We Own It
by Whedonista93
Summary: Clan Toretto takes in a racer from Brian and Rome's past, and decide to keep her despite the trouble she brings, because you never turn your back on family. Excerpt: "Who is she?" Dom asked. "Brian with tits." Rome answered around a mouthful of hamburger. One look from Mia and his mouth snapped shut. "Family." Brian answered.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** This is canon compliant. Previously posted on AO3 under the same title and pseud. May _slightly_ differ from the original post, because I've had time to do an edit run-through. Title (and a few lines throughout the story) taken from the song of the same title. Reviews and favorites are love, people! ;)

* * *

Letty lifted her hand to Dom's cheek in an uncharacteristic show of tenderness, "What the hell are we doing, Dom?"

The look in Dom's eyes said he knew exactly what she meant, but he asked anyway, "What are you talking about, Letty?"

Letty dropped her hand from his cheek to gesture between them, "You know what I'm talking about. This. Us."

Dom opened his mouth to reply, but Letty put a finger to his lips to cut him off.

"Just hear me out." she said.

Dom nodded silently and she dropped her hand and forced herself to meet his eyes, "I still don't remember everything. Probably never will. It comes back in bits and pieces. When I'm here, at home, with you, with the family… it feels familiar. It feels right. I know this is where I belong. I ain't questioning any of that. I'm just… I don't know if my place here is the same as it used to be."

Now Dom looked genuinely confused, "You're gonna have to be more specific than that, Letty."

She took a deep breath, "You and me… I don't think we should be you and me. Not like we are now."

Dom gulped and tried to joke, "You breaking up with me or proposing?"

Letty smiled sadly and shook her head, "We've never been in love, Dom. Sure, we love each other, but we've never been in love. Between us there's more passion than either of us knows what to do with, and maybe that's why things went the way they did between us, but we've never been in love."

Dom nodded slowly, agreeing without even being fully aware of it. "Why now?"

Letty shrugged and tried to think of how to answer. Finally she just said, "Mia."

One of Dom's eyebrows went up, "Mia?"

Letty nodded, a small grin tugging at her lips, "Do you remember what she was like before Brian came around?"

Dom chuckled, "Damn tornado. Still her, always had things handled, was always the responsible one, the sympathetic one, but damn… she was wild."

"Exactly. And look at her now. She's a mom. Her temper is all but gone… she's almost… calm. Brian's ice. He balances out her fire."

Dom sighed and ran a hand over his head, "Where are you going with this?"

"That's what you need. That's what I need."

"Brian?" Dom smirked.

Letty punched him. "No, dumbass. Ice. Calm."

"Saying I'm too hot?"

She punched him again. "Be serious for two more minutes, asshole." He looked apologetic and nodded, so she went on, "You're a storm, and you need an anchor to keep you steady, not another storm to clash with."

"And you?"

She shrugged, "I ain't going anywhere if that's what you're worried about. Other than that… I don't know."

Dom tipped his head back and closed his eyes, processing. He didn't open his eyes as Letty stood and pressed a kiss to the top of his head before walking off.

* * *

Brian stared at file spread out on the table in front of him. He was still amazed he'd convinced Stasiak to give him the file in the first place. Blue eyes framed by blonde waves stared up at him from the picture on the top of the file. The case report read like a royally jacked up version of his own undercover stint so many years ago. He shook his head and ran his hands through his hair. He needed to bring her home. And that meant he had to go through Dom. After everything they'd been through in the last few years, Clan Toretto was a bit more of a democracy, but Dom still had the final say, and no one would ever have it any other way.

* * *

Brian didn't bring it up until Sunday dinner.

"Who is she?" Dom asked.

"Brian with tits." Rome answered around a mouthful of hamburger. One look from Mia and his mouth snapped shut.

"Family." Brian answered.

* * *

She stopped dead in her tracks. Brian O'Conner leaning against the hood of '70 Charger next to a bald guy built like a brick house was not what she expected to see as she walked out of the gates of Dublin. The familiar, easy-going grin that appeared when he looked at her was what broke her out of her shock. Before she could think better of it, she let her backpack drop to the ground and sprinted, launching herself at him.

He chuckled as he caught her and wrapped his arms around her waist and barely managing to keep his balance as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and buried her face in his neck.

"Good to see you too." she could hear the grin in his voice.

She carefully extricated herself and stepped back, "Sorry. I just… I didn't expect you. I didn't expect anyone."

"Didn't figure you did," Brian shrugged, "And that's why we're here."

"I burned all my bridges." she said quietly.

He shook his head, "Not all of them."

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and she turned to see the brick house coming back to them with her backpack in hand. He silently tossed it into the backseat before turning to her. He quirked an eyebrow at Brian.

Brian shook his head and laughed, "Right. Mara Spilner, Dominic Toretto."

"Dom." The brick house said, offering a hand.

Mara reached out and shook it, never moving from the safety of Brian's arm.

"Ready to get out of this shithole?"

Mara took a deep breath and stepped away from Brian, turning so she could face him, "Why'd you come for me?" She knew at a gut level that she could always trust Brian, but she didn't deserve to have anyone come for her.

"Two reasons." he said, something dark flashing behind his eyes.

She lifted a brow in question.

"One… I don't know how much you know about my life since we… lost touch. But as far as I'm concerned, the only difference between you and me is that I took the fall for someone who actually gave a damn, and you took the fall for someone you only thought did."

Her jaw tensed, but she nodded jerkily, "And?"

"You don't turn your back on family."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: If you don't like the premise, don't read the story! I have better things to do with my time than read scathing comments, and if you don't have better things to do with your time than write said comments, please go get a life.**

Mara leaned forward and rested her arms on the back of Brian's seat, reveling in the sight of the open road out the window in front of them. A small grin tugged at her lips, and her fingers itched for her own car.

"L.A.?" she guessed.

"Yes ma'am." Brian confirmed.

"So… how long are we on the road?"

"With Dom driving? 3 hours."

Mara smirked. "Only a racer would mak hour drive in 3 even when they don't have a deadline."

Dom shrugged good-naturedly, "One stop first though."

Brian looked over in confusion.

Dom met Mara's eyes in the rear-view, "Got a preference on where to get a burger? Doubt prison food's been that great."

Mara groaned appreciatively, "Oh, man after my own heart."

* * *

Dom didn't miss the way Brian had sagged with relief when Mara had climbed into the back of the Charger. He didn't miss the worry in Brian's eyes at her tenseness when he'd brought up her old crew. He didn't miss the amused fondness in Brian's gaze as he watched her wolf down two burgers, a large fry, and a large milkshake before asking if Brian was going to finish his own fries. Dom chuckled and Brian looked over at him.

"What?" Brian asked.

"Wondering how someone eats like she does and still looks like that." Dom jerked his head toward the back seat, where Mara was sleeping, long limbs curled up tightly, back pressed firmly against the seat and a few strands of hair falling out of her braid. Dom remembered he was driving and slid his gaze back to the road when Brian laughed quietly.

"She never stops moving. Always gotta be doing something."

Dom nodded, "So… Spilner?"

Brian cringed a bit before shrugging, "It had to come from somewhere."

Silence fell. And Dom didn't miss the way Brian's eyes kept drifting over his shoulder.

"Bri." Dom said quietly.

Brian looked over at him.

"What's wrong?"

Brian shook his head and ran a hand through his hair, "This shouldn't have been her life. Rome… well, there was no chance he wasn't gonna end up locked up at some point or another. And me, it didn't surprise anyone when I flipped. Mara has always had this unflappable loyalty. There's no way she should've flipped for a crew that didn't give a damn."

"Why didn't you ever tell us about her?"

Brian shrugged and his lips quirked up in a small grin, "Honestly, thought it was better for her if we never saw her again. But that was before I found out how well she'd fit right in."

Dom nodded and shifted his gaze back to the rear view. He honestly wasn't sure how much longer it was before he noticed Brian smirking at him with a raised eyebrow. With a scowl Dom turned his eyes back to the road, probably far less embarrassed than he should be about getting caught ogling his best friend's sister.

"So, gonna tell her Rome's at the house?" Dom asked, shifting the focus.

Brian smiled widely, "Hell no. I'd rather just see her face when she sees him."

* * *

Mara was getting antsy. She loved the feeling of being in a car again, but the back seat was beginning to feel confining.

"Almost there." Dom reassured her, an understanding look in his eye as he met hers in the rear view.

She nodded and managed a grateful, albeit tight, smile.

Rome sat on the porch, impatiently bouncing his foot. Mia had kicked him out of the house half an hour ago, claiming he was driving her crazy. He was still pissed Brian and Dom kyboshed him driving up to Dublin with them.

"_C'mon, Bri! She's just as much my girl as she is yours." Rome complained._

"_No one's denying that, man! She's like a sister to us both." Brian answered calmly._

"_Then why can't I go?"_

"_Don't want to overwhelm her. You remember what it's like getting out."_

"_Then why's Dom going?"_

_Brian just quirked an eyebrow._

"_Alright, alright. Head of the family and all that, yeah, I get it."_

"_It'll be a good surprise for her when we get back."_

_Rome nodded, "Damn straight I'm a good surprise."_

_Brian smirked, "Besides, you really think she wants to listen to your loud mouth for four hours straight right after she gets out of the slammer?"_

_Rome shook his head and flipped Brian off as he walked away, "Cold, man. Ice cold."_

The second he heard the roar of the Charger he was on his feet and moving down the porch steps. Then he thought better of it and leaned against the porch steps, trying to look casual. He saw Mara's face over Brian's shoulder and grinned broadly as she did a double take and practically leaped over Brian, flinging the door open and barreling out of the car. Rome forgot all pretenses of casual and jogged toward her, not expecting her to continue barreling toward him and full on tackle him.

* * *

Dom chuckled as he stepped out of the car and watched Mara and Rome go down in a tangle of limbs. Brian shook his head and leaned back against the hood, a content grin on his face. He turned slightly as Dom came around the car and leaned next to him. Dom fought the urge to roll his eyes as Rome came up cursing.

"Damn woman! I ain't seen you in years and the first thing you try to do is break my leg." Rome teased as he pulled Mara to her feet and wrapped her in a bear hug. "I half expected to have to coerce you into some lovin'."

"Big word, Rome. I'm impressed." Mara winked up at him. "Bri didn't tell me you were here. I'll go back to stone-cold bitch later when I'm expecting you."

Dom laughed outright at that.

* * *

"Rome!" Dom's voice carried across the yard. Rome jumped a bit and Mara laughed.

Rome spun to face Dom, "What?"

"Why don't you and the other morons move your cars so I can put the Charger back in the garage?" Dom's voice made it clear that it wasn't a question, even if it was phrased as one. Rome walked off to obey, muttering under his breath about tyrants.

"Mara!" Mara turned to where Brian's voice had come off the porch and trudged up the steps toward him. He had one arm around the shoulders of a dark-haired woman that Mara recognized from old files as Mia Toretto. In his other arm was a blonde-headed, dark-eyed toddler looking at her curiously.

"Mara, this is my wife, Mia." Brian told her.

Mara stared at him in shock, "You got married?!"

Brian laughed, "I did say wife, right?"

"I would punch you if you weren't holding a baby."

Brian handed the baby to Mia and turned back to Mara before cheekily tapping his chin and holding his face out to her. Mara threw a neat right hook without a second thought. Mia let out a shocked gasp before dissolving into a fit of giggles as Brian stumbled backward.

"Four hours and you didn't think to mention you'd gotten married and had a baby?!" Mara railed at him.

"Baby first. Then married." Mia offered, pulling herself together.

Mara turned to the other woman and held out her hand, "Sorry, I'm being rude. I'm Mara, and it is damn good to meet you, Mia."

Mia grinned, "Nice to finally meet you too."

Brian looked at Mara, rubbing his jaw ruefully, "I didn't think you'd actually do it."

Mara shrugged, "Gonna introduce the squirt?"

Brian rolled his eyes at her dismissal, "Jack, can you say hi to Auntie Mara?"

Jack looked up at her with wide eyes, so she smiled at him encouragingly, "Hi, Jack."

Suddenly, he grinned widely and leaned away from his mom, arms held out to Mara. Mara looked up wide-eyed at Mia, who just laughed and passed Jack off before turning back to the house. Jack snuggled against her shoulder as she followed Mia through the house to the kitchen.

* * *

Mia shook her head in wonder at the sight of her son contently snuggled into his newest family member, "Brian is the only person he sits that still for."

"Told you, Brian with tits." Rome said as he came into the kitchen and snagged a handful of chips from the bowl on the counter.

"Roman Pearce!" Mara scolded evenly, "Your mama taught you better than to talk like that around women." She put her hands over Jack's ears, "Now, I know that lesson never took, but I will kick your ass if you talk like that around a baby. Got it?" She moved her hands aside and Jack giggled up at her.

"I'd listen to her, man. She still throws a mean right hook." Brian interjected, yanking a bag of peas out of the freezer and holding it to his face.

Rome looked back and forth between the blondes, "Cold as ice. Both of ya'll." he muttered as he slunk out of the kitchen.


	3. Chapter 3

"Yo, Dom!" Sean called as he trotted up the porch steps.

"Yeah, kid?" Dom turned to look at him.

"Where do you want me to put the new girl's bag?"

"Upstairs. First bedroom on the right."

Sean looked at Dom in confusion, "But –"

"I know. Just do it. And don't say a damn word about it to her."

Sean shrugged, "You're the boss."

* * *

Letty leaned against the counter next to Dom. "You put her in your room."

"Everyone gonna make a deal out of this?" Dom quirked an eyebrow at her.

"Not making a deal."

He huffed out a laugh, "Just do me a favor and make sure everyone knows to keep their mouths shut about it."

"Where are you gonna crash?"

"Garage."

"I'll make sure everyone knows. Just… tell me one thing."

"Hmm?"

"Why?"

Dom sighed, "I look at her, and I just see how fucked up Brian would've been if we'd turned our backs on him."

"How fucked up I would've been if you hadn't come after me." Letty added quietly.

Dom nodded.

"You want to show her that not all crews are like that."

"I want to show her what a family is like."

* * *

Mara sat in a battered old chair on the back lawn, watching the faint twinkle of stars above the smog, while she mentally catalogued everyone she'd met tonight.

Letty had been in the crew longest. She lived in the apartment over the Torreto's shop a few miles away. There was something between her and Dom, but Mara couldn't quite put her finger on what it was.

Rome shared an apartment with a guy named Tej in a slightly nicer part of town. They bickered worse than Bri and Rome ever had, and when Mara told them they sounded like an old married couple, Brian had laughed his ass off and Rome had turned into a sputtering mess. _Some things never change_, she thought fondly.

Tego and Rico, however, owned the fact that they fought like an old married couple. They made Mara laugh, and she was a little disappointed when they said they were taking off in a couple days.

'The kids,' as they were fondly referred to, Sean and Twinkie, lived in the basement. They'd come into Clan Toretto recently, after the crew had lost Han.

Mara's fists clenched as she thought about all the people this crew had lost. Jesse, Vince, Giselle, Han… her fists clenched tighter as she thought about how her own crew was partially responsible for a couple of those losses. _Not my crew,_ she corrected mentally. Her whole body tensed when she heard a heavy tread coming up behind her. She forced herself to relax.

"What can I do for you, Dom?" she asked without turning.

"Impressive trick." Dom chuckled.

Mara shrugged, "Distinctive tread. You're damn quiet for as big as you are, though."

Dom sat in the empty chair next to her silently.

"If this is the time where you tell me if I hurt your crew, you kill me, you can save it. I would never betray Brian like that."

Dom chuckled again, "I just thought you might want a beer," he said holding out a full bottle.

Mara took it gratefully, "Thanks."

Dom nodded, "We can be overwhelming at the best of times. Coming in straight out of the pen would make anyone skittish."

"That's one of the reasons I didn't argue coming here, you know." Mara said quietly.

"What? Our ability to smother people?"

Mara laughed, just a little, "No… I've read most of your files. When I was with the FBI, after Bri threw it all away… I wanted to know about the people who were worth that to him. It's no question that you're the head of the family. You've done time. You know what it's like getting out. So does Brian. Rome, too, but I didn't know he was gonna be here… but even just with you and Bri. I knew you'd understand when I just disappear or freak out."

Dom smirked, "Don't really see you as the type to freak out."

Mara smirked back, "Not in the typical sense."

"This you freaking out?" he gestured to the empty yard around them.

Mara nodded, "Quiet. Space. Gotta get away from the noise before it gets to be too much. Even though I know all those people that close isn't a bad thing here, it's…"

"Suffocating." Dom provided. "It'll get better. Just give it time."

Mara nodded and they sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes.

"So, what do I do to earn my keep around here? And I'm warning you right now, if it has anything to do with helping Mia in the kitchen, I'm outta here."

Dom's laughter rumbled across the yard, "Not the domestic type. You'll fit in just fine around here. Any good with engines?"

Mara's lips twitched, "Dabbled."

"You can try your hand at the shop tomorrow."

"Sounds good."

* * *

Mara's arms and face were covered in engine grease, her hair was stubbornly refusing to stay in its braid and she was cursing under her breath about stupid rich boy's toys and mechanics that were too stupid to make the right mods to a performance car.

"Just dabbled, huh?"

Mara jumped, banging her head on the lifted hood and spun to glare at Dom, wielding her wrench in his face, "You should really know better than to sneak up on a person like that, Toretto."

Dom shrugged unapologetically, "You should know better than to lie to a wheel man about wheels."

Mara mirrored his shrug, "Underselling isn't lying."

Dom grinned and nodded toward the engine, "So what's the problem?"

"Whatever dumbass mechanic installed the NOS setup left the stock intake valves and didn't modify the exhaust. Spoiled rich brat is lucky he didn't blow himself up." Mara glowered down at the engine.

"Can you fix it?"

Mara looked up at him incredulously, "Of course I can fix it."

To her surprise, Dom threw his head back and roared with laughter.

"What the hell's so funny?"

Brian came into the garage bay from the office, "What the hell are you laughing at, Dom? You're scaring the customers."

Dom turned a wicked smirk on his brother-in-law. "Your girl here says she can fix the car you deemed hopeless."

Brian went slack-jawed, "Bullshit."

"You think I can't?" Mara questioned.

"Shot to hell is a nice way of describing that mess." Brian told her.

"Two days." Mara said, eyes lighting up in challenge.

Brian lifted an eyebrow, "How sure are you?"

"What's the offer?"

"I'll let you drive my Supra if you win. If you lose, you cook dinner for a week."

Mara glared at Brian.

Dom looked amused, "Thought you said you didn't cook."

Mara shook her head, "Nope. Just told you not to ask."

Brian grinned, "She's a killer cook, just hates to do it."

An idea hit Mara and she grinned mischievously.

"Shit, I recognize that look." Brian's own grin vanished.

"Wanna sweeten the pot?"

"What've you got?"

"Day and a half."

"And if you win?"

"I get to _race_ your Supra, _and_ you get to go to Barstow to pick up my car."

"No way."

"Scared?"

"You are _not_ racing my car _and_ sending me to Barstow."

Mara raised an eyebrow and smirked.

Brian shook his head in defeat, "Fine. But you're cooking for _two_ weeks if you lose."

Mara smiled brightly, "Deal."

They shook on it and Dom chuckled as Brian walked away and Mara jumped headfirst back into the fried engine.

* * *

"Who's your money on?" Sean asked Dom, peering across the garage at Mara, who was clanging around under the car currently subject of the bet.

"Mara." Dom answered without hesitation.

"Seriously, man?" Brian protested.

Dom shrugged, "I didn't have faith in that the Supra would ever be worth shit, and you proved me wrong."

"Supra had a solid engine. The problem with that pile she's under _is_ the engine."


	4. Chapter 4

"Someone already scare Mara off?" Rome asked, glancing around the kitchen.

"Nah, man. She's still at the garage." Brian answered from the table.

"Man, the only time that girl misses a meal is when she's ass-deep in an engine. Nothing in the shop needed that much work."

"Except the Mazda."

"Mazda… as in that little red number that dumbass rich kid almost blew up?"

"That's the one."

"Impossible. That thing was beyond hope."

"That's what I told her." Brian shrugged, but sounded a bit nervous.

"Why you trippin' man? Oh. No. You did not bet against our girl."

Brian looked away guiltily.

Sean answered for him, "He sure did."

Rome turned his attention to the younger man, "What's he gonna lose?"

"Why does everyone assume I'm gonna lose?" Brian asked indignantly.

Rome ignored him and repeated, "What's he gonna lose?"

Sean grinned, "She gets to race the Supra. And he has to pick up her rig in Barstow."

"Aw, hell no, man!" Rome spun back toward Brian.

"What?" Brian responded.

"You know damn well what! You lose and you're gonna drag my ass with you back to that shithole of a town."

Brian shrugged unapologetically.

"You know that girl don't make bets she can't win!"

"You saw that engine, man! It's hopeless."

"For you, maybe!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Mara's always been a better mechanic than you, Brian. You're gonna lose. And I am _not_ driving to Barstow with you."

"I'm not going to lose. And you'll thank me when I win."

Rome couldn't help rising to the bait, "What you get if she loses?"

Brian grinned, "She cooks for two weeks."

Rome went slack-jawed.

Sean looked on curiously, "What's the big deal about her cooking anyway?"

"Girl's got skills. She freakin' hates cooking, but she coulda been some kind of world-class chef if she wanted. And I ain't even playin'." Rome answered. "Bri, my money's still on her, but I'm praying you win, brother. And I still ain't drivin' to Barstow… with either of you."

* * *

Late the next afternoon, before the deadline hit, Mara grinned triumphantly, Brian groaned in defeat, and Dom chuckled at them both as Mara turned the engine over and it roared to life without so much as a single out-of-place clunk. A quick test drive and Brian took his defeat with grace as Mara scrawled out the address and passcodes for her storage unit in Barstow.

"Just empty it out. I'll need the bags too." she instructed Brian with a smirk.

* * *

Mara was getting a bit twitchy. The garage was slow, and since she'd finished the Mazda yesterday, she hadn't had anything to keep her distracted since Brian wouldn't be back with her car until the wee hours. So when Dom tossed her the keys to Brian's Supra and told her to get a feel for it before the race that night, she could've kissed him. Instead, she peeled out of the parking lot without a backward glance, and felt free for the first time in three years.

* * *

Hector eyed the new-comer appreciatively. Black boots, form fitting ripped jeans, and black tank top sporting a vintage Chevy logo covered long limbs and ample curves, and loose blonde waves framed the bluest eyes he'd ever seen. Those blue eyes were looking at him expectantly and he remembered he was actually supposed to be talking to this stunner. She smirked and he knew she knew he hadn't heard a damn word.

She was kind enough not to call him on it, instead she repeated a question he was sure she'd asked before like it was the first time, "How much is the buy-in?"

Hector ran a more critical eye over her, "You missed amateur hour, mama."

Blue eyes quirked an eyebrow.

Hector laughed, "Buy-in is 2 G." he eyed her again, "Might take a couple hundred off if you let me buy you a drink later."

Her tone came went ice-cold, but her eyes still sparkled, "Might take a couple hundred off for that suggestion."

Hector held his hands out in defense, or defeat, he wasn't quite sure, and laughed, "Yikes. Snow Queen."

Her eyes narrowed.

"Alright, alright… buy-in is 2 G. Race starts in 15. Need your name and what you're driving."

She took a wad of cash out of her pocket and forked over the money without blinking or flinching, "Mara. The orange Supra." Mara jerked her head over her shoulder.

Hector did a double-take, "That's O'Conner's car."

"Got a point?"

Hector did a double-take of Mara and cursed in Spanish, "And now I feel like a tool. Should I be scared for my life?"

Mara raised an eyebrow in question.

"Blonde hair, blue eyes, cold as ice… and you don't let just anyone drive your car, especially when you're as good as O'Conner. If you ain't his sister, I'll shoot myself in the foot, mama."

To his relief Mara grinned, "Lucky for you I am, then."

Then she winked and walked away.

* * *

Dom leaned against the Charger and watched appreciatively as Mara leaned over to run a final critical eye over the Supra's engine. The way her jeans and tank hugged her just right was accentuated by the motion. And it was obvious he wasn't the only one who noticed. Wolf whistles, leering gazes, and cat calls were aimed at her from every direction. Any onlooker wouldn't even think she was aware of it as cool as she played it. A grin tugged at the corners of his lips when he overheard Hector refer to her as the Snow Queen. It was fitting.

Dom tensed as a few guys got bold enough to lean against the car and invade Mara's personal space. When one lifted a hand to her shoulder, Dom made a move in her direction, but was stopped by a hand on his arm. He looked down to meet Letty's eyes.

"Don't, Dom. She'd resent you for it. She's new to this scene. She may be one of yours, but let her prove she can handle herself before you broadcast it."

Dom closed his eyes and took a deep breath, leaning back against the car. He didn't open his eyes again until Letty laughed. He followed her gaze back to Mara. The guy who'd put his hand on her shoulder was on his ass at Mara's feet, looking confused as the surrounding crowd roared with laughter. Mara turned her back on him, calm as ever, and started fiddling with the engine again.

* * *

Mara took a deep breath. She had the steering wheel gripped in her left hand, and the gearshift gripped in her right. She looked to her left and saw the little red Mazda she'd just finished fixing the day before.

She shook her head at the kid, "Rich boy, if you blow that engine again, I'll kick your ass_ and_ make you find a new mechanic!"

He revved his engine in response. Mara rolled her eyes and glanced at the Honda Civic on her right. Low-key, but she'd caught a glimpse of the engine earlier; if the driver was any good, they could be a challenge. The only real competition in this race though, as far as Mara was concerned, was the Monte Carlo on the end. Modified to high heaven and the driver had a hell of a reputation.

The flag dropped and Mara gunned it. The rich boy in the Mazda spun out on the first curve, and Mara made a mental note to make sure Hector firmly placed that kid in 'amateur hour'. Mara fell behind by swerving to avoid her tail end getting clipped. Within seconds, she was flanking the Civic again. When the Honda slowed on the next curve, Mara pulled wide and yanked her emergency brake, drifting flawlessly around the curve before releasing the brake and shooting well ahead of the Civic. Less than two minutes later she was neck and neck with the Monte Carlo. After the final curve, she counted to a slow 5 after they hit their NOS before hitting her own and passed them with ease, winning the race by a full car-length.

She spun into park and leaped out into a Rome's arms.

"That's my girl!" Rome whooped triumphantly.

Mara gave a small bow as she accepted her winnings from Hector before pulling the Supra off the road.

"Pretty cocky for winning one race, bitch." a voice said behind her as she popped the Supra's hood to let the engine cool.

She spun to face the driver of the Monte Carlo. The look in his eyes was nothing short of malicious.

Mara forced her voice to remain steady, even though her heart was pounding rapidly, in a way that had nothing to do with the high of a win, "Care for a rematch?"

The driver grinned lecherously, "I was thinkin' of a different kind of ride."

"No thanks."

Mara started to turn away, but was stopped by his hands gripping her upper arms tightly.

"C'mon, bitch. Lemme show you how a man drives."

"Show me a man and I might." Mara spat back at him.

His hands tightened painfully on her arms, and he was standing far too close for her to do anything with her legs.

"Let me go." her voice shook slightly, but Mara was more concerned with keeping the tears out of her eyes and panic from welling up. Feeling trapped wasn't a good mindset for a recently released con.

"What if I don't want to?"

Before Mara could answer, a hand yanked the driver backward by the neck of his shirt. Mara stumbled forward, landing hard on her knees in time to look up and see Dom's fist slamming into the man's face.

"She wasn't asking, Julius." Dom's voice rumbled as the man, Julius' head snapped backward. When it came back up, Dom slammed his fist into his face again.

"Dom." she said, just loud enough for him to hear.

He turned to face her and she shook her head, almost imperceptibly.

Dom turned back to Julius, "You fuck with my crew, you lose." Dom ground out and slammed his fist into his face one final time as he released his shirt and let him crumple to the ground.

He wiped his hand on his jeans before turning to Mara and offering it to her. She grabbed it without hesitation and let him pull her to her feet.

"You good?" he asked quietly.

Mara nodded.

"Get outta here?"

She nodded again.

Dom looked at her with concern. She tried to put a reassuring expression on her face. It didn't seem to be working.

"I'll ride with her." Letty offered from behind Dom.

Dom nodded and released Mara's hand. As he turned back to the Charger, Mara slammed the hood on the Supra and climbed into the driver's seat as Letty climbed into the passenger seat. She appreciated the fact that the other woman didn't even try to suggest that she shouldn't be driving when she was shaken up.

Mara finally felt like she could breathe easy as she pulled away from the race, surrounded by the roaring of the rest of the crew's engines.

"He owns you now." Letty said quietly, but clearly.

Mara's head snapped toward her, "What?"

"If he didn't before, he does now. Welcome to Clan Toretto."


	5. Chapter 5

"Anyone seen Dom?" Mara asked, stretching her arms above her head as she walked into the kitchen.

"Already left for the shop." Sean said from the table.

"I don't think he slept last night." Mia added worriedly from the stove as she tried to balance a wriggling Jack on one hip and cook with her free hand.

"Wouldn't be surprised. He was still seriously pissed when we got back last night." Sean drawled.

Mara held her hands out and Jack lurched into her arms and settled right down. Mia glanced at her gratefully, "Thank– what happened to your arms!?"

Mara looked down and cringed at the bruises wrapping her arms and clutched Jack a bit tighter as she fought the panic that threatened to rise again. She was vaguely aware of Sean explaining the events of last night to Mia. Mia's brown eyes were looking at her with worry when she looked back up.

"I'm fine." Mara tried to reassure her. Mia ignored her and pulled her into a hug. Mara let herself relax into it and took a few deep breaths, grounding herself. "I'll be okay." she said more steadily.

Mia looked into her eyes for a moment before accepting it and nodding and turning back to the stove. Mara sat with Jack on her lap and picked up a model car and drove it across the table with full sound effects, making him giggle and clap.

"I'm heading out." Sean announced a few minutes later, dropping his dishes in the sink.

Mara looked up, "Hold up, I'll catch a ride with you."

"Wear something with sleeves. Dom'll kill Julius if he sees those bruises." Mia advised from the stove.

* * *

"You've got to be shitting me." Dom said.

Mara's car was a 1995 right-side Nissan Skyline.

* * *

Mara tugged nervously at her shirt. The sleeves fell just below her elbows, so the bruises were covered, but it still worried her.

"Relax." Sean said.

"I'm trying."

"He's gonna see right through the fidgeting."

"I know."

"And then he's gonna end up in prison for killing that son of a bitch."

Mara looked over at his sharply, "Is this supposed to be making me feel better?"

"Is it working?" he asked with a goofy grin.

Mara chuckled, "Maybe."

"You know," Sean began almost hesitantly, "from the stories I've heard… Mia and Brian are the only other people who've ever gotten Dom to stop beating someone. I mean… you didn't even yell at him."

Mara shrugged, unsure how to respond to that, "Not Letty?"

"That your way of asking if they're an item?" Sean quirked an eyebrow.

Mara shrugged again, unwilling to answer this time.

Sean laughed, "When a guy like Dom has a claim on someone, you know it without a doubt." Sean hesitated before continuing, "But even when they were an item, Letty could never talk him down from anything, even if she wanted to."

Mara nodded slowly in acknowledgment.

They pulled into the shop and saw Dom eyeing her car, a look of exasperation tinged with fondness on his face.

"Problem with my car Toretto?" Mara called across the bay as she stepped out of Sean's car.

"What is it with you desert rats and these damn imports?" Dom called back.

Mara crossed the bay and shrugged as she stopped next to him, "Maybe they put something in the water."

Dom shook his head and almost rolled his eyes, "Where do you want to start?"

Mara raised an eyebrow, "You're gonna help me?"

Dom shrugged, "Why not?"

* * *

"Twinkie!" Dom shouted into the bay.

"Yo!" Twinkie responded, jogging into the office.

"Got a job for you."

"What's up?"

"I want you to do a design for Mara's car."

"Uh… she know about this?"

"Nope."

"I might be more scared of her than I am of you, man. No offense."

Dom chuckled, "None taken. Just hear me out."

* * *

Mara was nothing but a dark gray blur as she sped across the finish line. For the first time, the feeling of freedom driving always gave her mixed with true elation, not just the high of a win. She'd been out for three weeks, and tinkering with her Skyline for two, but tonight was the first time she won a race with her own car in almost four years.

"Snow Queen takes the gold. Why am I not surprised?" Hector chuckled as he forked over winnings, "You're becoming the name to beat around here, chica."

Mara smiled widely and executed the mock bow she'd repeated every win, two more, now three, since the first, before turning to her approaching crew. She ecstatically threw herself toward the closest, fully expecting it to be Rome or Brian as usual, and was surprised to meet with a hell of a lot more muscle than either of them could boast. Mara stiffened as she realized she'd just thrown herself into Dom's arms, but relaxed when he just laughed and wrapped an arm around her waist, spinning her around.

"That's our girl." he rumbled out proudly.

* * *

"What crew did you say she ran with before she got locked up?" Dom asked Brian on the drive back.

Brian shook his head, "I didn't. Stasiak only gave me redacted version of her file. Why?"

"The way she drove tonight… she's good."

"You've seen her drive before tonight."

"Never in her own car. You know it makes a difference."

Brain nodded, conceding the point.

* * *

Late the next morning, Mara walked into the shop and promptly stopped dead in her tracks, dropping her cup of coffee without preamble. Her Skyline, which just last night was a sleek gunmetal gray, was now a nearly shimmering white with an intricate pattern of swirls and snowflake flurries in varying blues detailed across the side. Someone had even gone so far as to add a little happy face antennae topper sporting a crown.

Having gotten over the initial shock, Mara kicked her now empty coffee cup out the way and cursed at the coffee dampened denim of her jeans before looking around to find the culprit who had messed with her baby. She still wasn't sure if she was going to punch them or kiss them.

She scanned the garage before spying a head through one of the other car's windows.

"Twinkie, I can see you!" she called.

Twinkie's head popped up over the top of the car, "You gonna hurt me?" he asked, looking ready to bolt.

"Haven't decided yet if I'm gonna kiss you or kill you." Mara answered, approaching her car and walking a slow circle around it.

"If you decide on kiss, I'm right here, mama. But if you decide on kill, it was all Dom's idea."

Mara laughed, "Throwing the boss under the bus?"

Twinkie shrugged, uncowed, "I told him straight up I was more scared of you than him."

Mara's lips twitched into a grin as she finished circumventing her car, "This is damn good work. The design yours?"

Twinkie nodded.

"C'mere." Mara gestured him toward her.

He stepped up next to her hesitantly.

She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, "I love it."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **I'm feeling generous, so you get two chapters today. ;) Enjoy!

* * *

Dom pulled himself up off the couch and looked at the clock on the wall, silently cursing the fact that he'd fallen asleep on the couch last night, and almost grateful that whoever was banging on the door had woken him up before Mara came down and caught him on the couch. Who the hell was banging on his door at 7:30 in the morning, though?

He swung the door open abruptly and felt a bit of satisfaction when the woman on the other side of stumbled back a few steps in surprise.

"This better be important. It's too damn early for house calls." Dom rumbled out, voice still a little rough from sleep.

"Uh…" the woman took a moment to collect herself and check the clipboard in her hands, "I'm looking Mara Spilner."

Dom looked the woman up and down. Cheap skirt suit that didn't quite fit, functional heels, dull brown hair, streaked with gray at the temples, pulled into a tight bun, and wary hazel eyes. Everything about her screamed cop. Dom remained silent and stared down at the woman, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the door frame, faux casually, but knowing damn well (because he'd been told before) how intimidating it made him look.

The woman gulped and went on, "I'm her parole officer. This is her listed address."

Dom considered for a moment before answering, "She's still sleeping. You can come back later."

"Mr…"

"Toretto." Dom supplied.

The woman's eyes widened a bit, "Um, Mr. Toretto, as Miss Spilner's parole officer, she is obligated to meet with me whenever I deem necessary. I have yet to meet with her since her release and it is imperative I establish –"

"Look, lady, I don't give a damn who you are. You can come back at a decent hour. And you can schedule an appointment with her. I've seen her release conditions. You don't have the right to unannounced visits."

The cop looked a bit shocked.

Dom turned to look over his shoulder as he heard someone coming down the stairs. Mara appeared wearing nothing but a long sleeve button-up Dom was pretty sure she'd stolen from Rome's laundry. He shot her a look telling her to get out of sight, but her eyes narrowed at the cop on the porch and she stormed up right behind him.

"What the hell is this?" Mara spat.

Dom was about to answer when he realized Mara was speaking directly to the cop.

"Mara." the cop nodded.

"What are you doing here?" Mara asked, acid dripping from her tone.

"Says she's your parole officer." Dom offered, turning sideways so Mara had a better line of sight, but keeping himself in between the two women.

"No way in hell." Mara fumed.

"I've got the paperwork right here." the officer responded.

"And you can shove that paperwork up your ass."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me! Who the hell was the idiot that signed off on this?"

"That's hardly any of your bus–"

"You get the hell out of here and tell them to send me an officer I don't have a conflict of interest with. And you make sure they schedule an appointment. I know my rights, Janine."

Janine shrugged, "Budget cuts, staff shortages. No one else."

"That is bullshit. And if you don't get the hell out of here, I'm filing a harassment suit."

"That would never fly and you know it."

"I don't know about that. I've got the money for some pretty damn good lawyers." Dom cut in.

Mara smirked and Janine shot him a glare.

"Now I suggest you do as the lady says and get the hell off my property."

The cop stormed down the stairs and peeled off in her sedan.

Dom looked down at Mara, who was still glaring after the car.

"Care to explain?" he asked.

Mara took a deep breath and looked up at him, "Janine Carte. She was in my division at the Bureau. The one case we actually worked together, the guy walked because she was so concerned with one-upping me that she contaminated evidence. The one write-up in my file before I took the fall for my crew was from knocking her out after she botched a sting I'd spent a month setting up. Her goal in life is to make mine miserable. I don't know why the hell she's with LAPD now, but there's no way in hell it's legal for her to parole my case with our history."

Dom nodded, "Then we make sure she doesn't."

* * *

After ignoring a week's worth of Janine's calls to set up an appointment, Mara had had enough. A police station was about the last place she wanted to be, but there she was, storming past the front desk and into the captain's office like she owned the place.

The man looked up in surprise. Mara noticed, as only a cop would, that it was her redacted file he looked up from.

"Miss Spilner. Seems you've saved me some man power. I was just about to send a unit to pick you up. Refusing to meet with your parole officer is a violation of your parole." he told her as he waved off the officers that had chased her through her storm into the office.

Mara scoffed and smirked humorlessly, "I see my assumption was right and Janine didn't share any of the reasons I won't meet with her."

"I'm sorry?"

"Sergeant Carte. She tell you why I refuse to meet with her?"

"Can't say she has."

"You should check your personnel files."

"Oh?"

"We have a history from my time at the Bureau. Her handling my case would be a serious conflict of interest, and there's no way in hell she would be unbiased toward me."

"I hate to break it to you, Miss Spilner, but you're a dirty cop. None of my officers are going to be unbiased."

"Nor would any of them be as biased as she is. I have no problem meeting with a parole officer. But as I told Janine when she showed up on my porch at 7:30 in the morning with no appointment, you're going to have to assign someone else. Because if I get one more phone call or unannounced visit from her, you'll be hearing from my lawyers with a harassment suit." And with that, Mara stormed out just as suddenly as she'd stormed in.

* * *

Two days later, Mara stood in the kitchen eyeing her new parole officer. She looked about Sean and Twinkie's age, maybe a year or two older. She was pretty; dark skin, long dark hair pulled into tight braids and bunned at the nape of her neck, dark green eyes. If Mara had to guess, she'd say beat cop. Probably had little to no experience as a parole officer. What struck Mara most, though, was that she was seemed comfortable in the neighborhood, and hadn't shot any of the crew wandering around dirty looks. Mara pushed out of the kitchen and joined the cop in the booth she was sitting in.

Mara held a hand out across the table, "You must be Officer Kimble."

The cop actually smiled and shook Mara's hand without hesitation, "Rona."

"Mara. Thanks for meeting me here. I know it's probably not convenient, but my lunch break's about the only time I'm not busy and guaranteed to be in one place."

"Hey, means you have a job. Make's my job easier."

"Don't take this wrong, but you are way more chill about dealing with me than I expected anyone to be."

Rona shrugged, "My dad was a dirty cop. I know it's not always as simple as the paperwork tries to make it sound."

"Okay, then."

They spent the next 30 minutes with Mara answering all the standard questions, like where she was living and working, what she was driving (Mara had bought some piece of crap old Toyota to put down on police paperwork), etc.

At the end Rona seemed hesitant to say whatever was on her mind.

"Spit it out." Mara finally demanded.

Rona took a deep breath, "The department is concerned with some of your… choices regarding your current circumstances. You're residing in a home full of fugitives and working in a garage that specializes in high end cars like the ones the crew you took the fall for drove. It is the concern of the department that such circumstances will cause a… relapse into the habits that landed you in prison in the first place.

Mara met Rona's eyes coldly, and answered with a hard voice, "No one in my home has a record, with the exception of Sean's juvenile record. Their records were expunged in service to this country. The _department_ would do well to remember that. And I work in a garage because I'm a good mechanic. Simple as that. Are we done here?"

Rona nodded, wide-eyed and silent.


	7. Chapter 7

When Mia and Letty had insisted she join them for their monthly girl's night at Letty's apartment, Mara had been wary. Three margaritas and one chick flick (Mia's choice) later, she was glad she'd given in. She'd never really had girlfriends. Growing up it was always just her, Rome, and Brian. Then it was her fellow feds. Then, briefly, it was the crew that had abandoned her.

A small clang in the shop below had Mara almost immediately sobered as she jumped up and dug her gun out of her bag before Letty or Mia even thought to move. There was no way in hell anyone should be in the shop at 3 in the morning when no one had even gone home until 1.

Mara had eased to the bottom of the stairs before Letty and Mia appeared at the top of them. They both had unreadable expressions on their faces, and Mia opened her mouth to say something, but Letty laid a hand gently on her shoulder and shook her head, and steered her back into the apartment. Mara waited to hear the door click closed and took a deep breath before she steadied her gun and swung out into the shop bay.

* * *

Letty closed the door and leaned back against it with a sigh.

Mia looked at her in confusion, "What if she shoots him?"

Lett chuckled, "She won't."

"You sound sure."

"I am. She's not the type to shoot first."

Mia nodded, somewhat reluctantly conceding the point.

"Besides, this is getting ridiculous. She should know."

"_That_ I can get on board with." Mia agreed enthusiastically.

* * *

Dom cursed as he dropped the wrench and prayed no one heard him. Well, no. He prayed Mara didn't hear him. Letty and Mia knew he was there. Unfortunately, Mara still had the instincts of a cop and convict, and by the time he straightened back up from picking up the wrench and turned around, he was staring down the barrel of a .45.

* * *

Mara lowered her gun quickly at the sight of Dom. The only thing that kept her from dropping it completely was years of training and habit. She flipped the safety on and shoved it into the back of her jeans, knowing her expression was probably almost comically shocked.

"What the hell, Toretto?"

Dom quirked an eyebrow, all cockiness.

"And do _not_ give me some bullshit line about this being a free country, or about how a man can be in his own shop whenever he wants. What are you doing here?"

Dom shrugged, "I plead the Fifth?"

Mara narrowed her eyes and looked around the shop. The only light on in the entire shop was on the workbench under the stairs. She stalked around Dom toward it and stopped dead at the sight beyond the open door of the storage space under the stairs. A twin sized bed had been shoved into the space, and a few neat stacks of clothes were folded underneath it.

She spun on Dom, "Tell me I'm wrong." she demanded.

"About what?" Dom asked casually.

"You are _not_ pulling a Harry Potter so I can have my own room."

"A Harry Potter?"

Mara rolled her eyes, "Don't change the subject. Why the hell are you sleeping on a bed there's no way you even fit on under the stairs in the shop?"

Dom looked as sheepish as she'd ever seen him.

"Dom…" she said warningly.

He shrugged, "You needed a place to stay."

"What does that have to do with you sleeping under the –" Mara cut herself off as comprehension dawned, "You put me in your room." she breathed, leaning back against the work bench.

Dom sat on the stool in front of her, invading her personal space, but she didn't notice. She closed her eyes and ran her hands through her hair, "Why?"

Dom chuckled, "Didn't think you'd be down for sharing a room."

"Dom, seriously, why?"

Dom sighed, "You needed a home."

"I could've slept here." Mara gestured toward the stairs without opening her eyes.

"You could have." he conceded.

"But?"

"But this isn't a home. This is a bed. If we would have set you up here, you would've felt like a charity case."

Mara opened her eyes slowly to meet Dom's. When she saw nothing but sincerity there, she nodded, "Okay, but you will be back in your own bed tomorrow. Hell, tonight. It's not like I'm using it right now. Do you even fit on that thing?" Mara asked gesturing toward the twin bed.

Dom chuckled, "Not really."

Mara shook her head in exasperation, "Idiot."

And suddenly Mara was aware of just how close Dom was; his knees were practically bracketing her hips. Before she could stop herself, Mara leaned forward and kissed him. It was soft, innocent, and quick.

She pulled back before he had time to decide whether or not to kiss back and whispered, "Thanks." before fleeing back up the stairs.

* * *

Not that he would ever admit it, but Dom almost felt like he was intruding as he stepped into Mara's – his? he wasn't sure – room. For as little as she had brought with her – just the backpack she'd been released with and one duffel bag that Brian had picked up along with her car – she had managed to entirely take over the room. It wasn't necessarily messy, but it was definitely cluttered, a lot like Brian's space – except for the garage, both of them kept their tools meticulous – always seemed to be. Clothes were randomly strewn, folded, or piled all over the room; random car magazines were stacked and spread across the bed and nightstand; a few pictures of younger versions of her, Brian, and Rome lined the dresser; the bed was rumpled.

He shook his head with a wry grin before he unceremoniously flopped back onto the bed. He immediately winced and sat back up, rubbed his head with one hand and reached under the pillow with the other, only to draw it back out holding a 9mm.

"Paranoid woman." he muttered as he set it on the nightstand.

He settled back against the pillow again and closed his eyes, and scents of engine grease, gasoline, saltwater, flowers – roses, he thought absently – and something distinctly Mara drifted up around him, as he debated whether or not he'd actually get any sleep, even as his eyes slipped close and he gave into the exhaustion that had plagued him recently.

* * *

Sean made his way toward the front door, coffee in one hand and Jack in the other. He didn't realize the dilemma of that until he got to the door and the knocking became more insistent.

"Uh… who is it?" Sean yelled through the door.

"Rona Kimble." a woman's voice answered.

"Who?" Sean asked.

"Mara's parole officer."

Sean cursed quietly, then flinched and looked down to make sure Jack was still sleeping. He was. Growing up in this house, the kid could sleep though anything. "Look, I'm sure this goes against some kind of protocol or something, but my hands are full and the door is unlocked if you wanna let yourself in."

"You're right about it violating protocol." Rona answered wryly.

"Promise I ain't gonna shoot you or nothin'. I've got a sleeping kid in one hand and hot cup of coffee with nowhere to set it in the other."

"Alright. Stand back. I'll open the door, but I'm doing so with my gun drawn." Rona answered hesitantly.

"Fair enough." Sean said, as he stepped backwards.

The doorknob turned and the door swung open. Sean kept his attention focused on the gun, and angled his body so that he was between the woman and Jack.

Rona's eyes swept the entry and Sean quickly before she holstered her gun and turned a bright smile toward him, "Sorry about that. Better safe than sorry."

Sean grinned easily, shifting so he was facing her head on, "I get it, comes with the territory."

"Rona Kimble." she said and held out her hand.

Sean cocked an eyebrow and his grin widened.

Rona dropped her hand and Sean would have sworn she blushed, but her complexion made it hard to tell, "Right, full hands. Sorry."

Sean chuckled, "It's all good. I'm Sean. Nice to meet you, Officer Kimble, Mara seems to like you well enough."

"Rona's fine. And… thanks?" she replied uncertainly.

"It's a compliment."

"Alright."

"So… you lookin' for Mara, I'm assuming."

"Yeah, we have an appointment at 9 tomorrow, but something came up and I'm going to be out of town and I was hoping we could switch it to today. I tried to call, but her phone was off, and I was in the area, so I thought I'd just stop by and hope she didn't mind."

"Well, living room is through there." Sean nodded. "Make yourself comfortable and I'll see if I can find her."

Sean took the stairs slowly, careful not to jostle Jack too much. There wasn't a more loved kid in all of L.A., but he was a handful, and everyone breathed a little easier when he was napping. He used his coffee mug to tap on the door, and almost dropped it when Dom answered the door seconds later. A smirk showed up on his face before he could stop it.

"Mara's at the shop." Dom told him before he could manage any smartass remark.

Sean grimaced, "Well, in that case, someone better call her. Her parole officer is here. And seriously… damn. Why were none of my parole officers that hot?"

Dom raised an eyebrow.

"Seriously, Dom. Dark skin, long legs, and damn those green eyes." Sean shook his head.

Dom chuckled, "If your thoughts are going to keep going that direction, kid, I'd suggest putting a shirt on… and changing into some looser pants."

Sean blushed furiously and grumbled his was back down the hall, Dom at his back.

Dom ignored the cop in the living room and headed straight out the back, keys in hand.

Sean walked into the living room and Rona looked up expectantly.

Sean shrugged apologetically, wincing when Jack stirred, "Mara's at the shop already."

Before Rona could answer, Jack's head jerked up and he started fussing loudly.

Sean turned his attention to the toddler, "Hey, little man. That ain't no way to greet a pretty lady." Sean winked at Rona. Jack pouted up at him, but his fussing quieted to a small pout as Sean bounced him gently.

"You're good with him. He yours?" Rona asked quietly.

Sean grinned at her, "Nah. Brian and Mia's. Haven't you read our files?"

Rona smirked at him over her shoulder as she headed toward the door, "What files?"

Sean chuckled a bit. "I could get used to her being around." he told Jack when the door closed behind her.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: **I once again feel the need to repeat: If you don't like the premise of the story: **Don't read it!** It's your choice to read it in the first place, so there's no need to go and be an asshole because you don't like something about it. That being said, _constructive_ criticism is welcome and appreciated. But if you're just gonna be a jerk, screw off. I'm sure we both have better things to do with our time.

* * *

Mara looked up at the sound of Dom's Charger then cursed and turned her attention back to her Skyline. Unfortunately, the whole display caught Letty's attention.

"You don't have to act like you don't notice him coming, _gringa_." Letty laughed.

Mara batted her eyes innocently, "Don't know what you're talking about."

Letty rolled her eyes, "Save the charm for the boys. I know better."

Mara shrugged, "Fine, but honestly, who _doesn't_ notice him coming?"

"Fair point, but most don't blush."

Mara's flinched before she could stop herself. "I'm not blushing." she muttered.

"Girl, you're too white to hide it. Yes, you are. What happened last night?"

Mara looked at the other woman warily. "Don't take this wrong, but I'm not sure you're the one I want to have this conversation with."

Letty rolled her eyes again, "I'm the only one who would even understand this conversation."

Mara pursed her lips, "Touché. I, uh… Ikindakissedhimlastnight."

"Well, damn! Took you long enough!"

Mara's eyes widened.

"First of all, just so this is out of the way, I broke up with him. I hold no grudges; I just want him to be happy. Second, that needed to happen. He needs someone like you."

"I don't really know what his response was."

Letty quirked an eyebrow.

Mara looked down sheepishly, "I didn't really give him time to respond. I didn't even give him time to register what was happening and decide to kiss me back or not."

"You're not gonna be able to hide from him.

"Wasn't planning on it."

"Good luck!" Letty winked as she sauntered away.

Mara turned to see Dom approaching, "Your parole officer is on her way over here."

"Why?"

Dom shrugged before shoving his sleeves up and grabbing a wrench, "What are we fixing today?"

Mara grinned, grateful he seemed to be ignoring last night for the time being, "NOS frame got knocked loose during that last race."

Dom nodded and bent over the engine as Rona walked in.

Mara nodded to her, "Thought our appointment wasn't til tomorrow."

Rona smiled shyly, "It's not. Something came up and I won't be here. I was hoping we could talk today. I tried to call."

"Phone died. Forgot my charger at the house. We can talk, but we're gonna have to do it as I work."

Rona nodded, "Fair enough."

"Don't take this wrong, but how the hell do you survive a beat? You're too damn... nice."

Rona laughed and shrugged, "I compartmentalize."

Mara raised her eyebrows skeptically but let it drop.

"Since when are beat cops, or any cops, parole officers, anyway?" Dom asked accusingly.

Mara elbowed him with a glare that clearly said 'Be nice.'

Rona shrugged again, "City wide budget cuts." She dropped her folder on the nearest workbench and pulled up a stool as Mara dove headfirst into the engine, "Job still going well?"

"She's the best damn mechanic I have." Dom answered for her.

"Positive review from employer, noted." Rona chuckled, "Living situation still the same?"

"Yep." Mara replied.

They went back and forth for another fifteen minutes before Rona stood and said, almost sarcastically, "Well, Miss Spilner, it is my professional opinion that you are continuing to prove yourself a law-abiding, productive member of society, and I thank you for your time."

Mara chuckled in response and Rona cracked a grin.

On her way out she eyed the Skyline appreciatively, "Off the record, I don't know how you spend all day working on cars like this and then drive that piece of shit Toyota."

Mara raised an eyebrow, "Thought the department was worried about… what was the word?"

"Relapse." Dom offered.

Mara snapped her fingers, "That was it. Relapse."

Rona shrugged, "The department is. Never said I agreed."

* * *

Mara hesitated outside the bedroom door. She knew Dom was already in the room, but she wasn't quite sure what he expected her to do. The sound of footsteps coming up the stairs cut her indecision short, and she twisted the knob and walked in, confident façade hastily slapped into place.

Dom quirked an eyebrow at her as she stripped out of her jeans and tee shirt, but he remained silent from his seat against the headboard. She started to reach for one of the oversized tee shirts she had recently stolen from Brian (how many pieces of clothing belonging to Rome and Bri she could acquire without them noticing had become somewhat of a tradition when they were young, and it was a comforting routine to fall back into these days) and instead casually grabbed one of Dom's neatly folded wife beaters from the end of the bed. His eyebrow rose farther, indicating the question he wasn't voicing.

Mara shrugged, "Just because I offered you your room back doesn't mean I'm giving it up." she told him as she flopped back on the bed and rested her head on his outstretched legs. "That gonna be a problem, Toretto?" she challenged.

Dom swallowed and offered an easy grin, but his voice was serious, "I don't do casual fucks."

Mara shrugged, "Who said anything about fucking?"

Dom lifted an eyebrow.

"Gotta at least buy a girl dinner first." she winked up at him.

"And if I do?" he challeneged.

Mara shrugged, "Then we'll see."

"Maybe we will."

Mara lifted one bare leg in the air, "I hate sleeping with pants on."

Dom smirked again, "Then don't complain about the response my body has to sharing a bed with those legs."

* * *

It was only by sheer force of will that Mara didn't jump out of her skin when Dom appeared out of nowhere at her shoulder.

"Julius is racing the third set." his voice rumbled quietly in her ear.

"So?" she asked, cursing the shaking in her voice.

Dom laid a hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently, "So smoke him. And then come directly back to me."

Mara smiled up at him, "Always do, always will, Toretto."

* * *

Dom didn't even bother hiding one of his rare full-blown smiles when Mara blew across the finish line even farther ahead of Julius than she had her first race in town. She kept coming toward him and spun to a stop less than two feet from him.

"Cocky bitch." he chuckled as she leapt out of the car and into his arms.

She winked up at him, "You know you like it."

She started to pull away, but he pulled her back, spun her so her back was to his chest, and tugged her against him with one arm snugly tucked around her waist and whispered, "Stay."

She looked up and followed his gaze. When she saw Julius approaching, she settles back against him and laid her arm over his across her waist. It would appear casual to onlookers, but he could feel how tense she was and he tucked his free hand around the gun tucked into the back of her pants.

Julius ran a hand across Mara's Skyline. The crowds around them fell quiet.

"I know you've been off the scene while your face has been knitting itself back together," Mara started, grateful her voice remained steady, "but if you don't get your hands off my car, I'll remove them for you. It would be fun to watch you try and drive without them. And just 'cause you're special, if you don't get your hands off my car, I'll let Dom break your nose again on top of me removing your hands with a rusty spoon."

Dom smirked. Julius took his hand off the car only to lean back against the hood.

"I believe the lady told you to get off her car." Dom rumbled out.

Julius shrugged and sneered, "She just said to take my hands off of it. You see my hands on it? You know, Toretto, I never have understood the way you take in strays. Stray cops, no less. And then you let the bitches drive your cars."

Dom chuckled, "You know damn well everyone in my crew drives their own cars. You're just pissed you can't beat my girl." As an afterthought he condescendingly added, "And hell, maybe you're hurt you were never one of the strays I took in."

Julius scoffed, "Your crew is a joke. Your little friends ain't worth the air they breathe."

Dom's hand tightened on the gun at Mara's back and she warningly squeezed his arm around her waist. He loosened his grip, and his voice came out hard and cold, "Check your tone, Julius. It'd be good for your health to remember who you're talking to."

Julius actually laughed, "Who, you? You were gone a long time, Toretto. L.A. ain't your city anymore."

Mara shifted to lean against the Charger as Dom stood straight and stepped forward.

Dom raised his voice, "Anyone here who wouldn't stand behind me if I called, feel free to speak up."

Silence rang. Julius wilted a bit. Dom could practically feel Mara's smirk behind him.

He turned to look Julius in the eye, "This will always be my city."

Julius sneered, "Don't count on it."

* * *

Mara danced around the kitchen as she made faces and sang obnoxiously off-key, much to the delight of the toddler in her arms, as Brian helped Mia with dinner.

"I think Jack has a new favorite auntie." Rome said pointedly in Letty's direction, leaning back in his chair. Brian shook his head and groaned. Rome had yet to learn that needling Letty was bad for his health. Mara deftly spun out of the way, already laughing, as Letty kicked Rome's legs away from the table and he went crashing backward.

Mara spun back to grin over his sprawled form, "We share first."

"Damn straight." Letty agreed.

"Swear jar!" Mia called over her shoulder.

Brian chuckled as he stirred… whatever Mia was cooking. The swear jar had been instituted last week after Jack had toddled up behind Mia and patted her rear, innocently exclaiming, "Ass!" With no one in the house hurting for money, Mia had declared that any cursing in Jack's presence would result in all cash a person had on them getting dumped in the swear jar. Double whatever a person was carrying if it was a particularly vulgar curse. At the rate they were going right now, Jack's college would be paid for before he was 3… mostly by Rome. Letty obligingly opened her wallet and dropped $40 in, 'accidentally' kicking Rome on her way.

"So, you're shacking up with Dom now?" Rome asked Mara casually as he pulled himself up from the floor.

Brian groaned again and threw over his shoulder, "You suck at picking topics that are good for your health, dude."

"Oh, come on!" Rome protested. "You know we all been wondering about it for weeks. Someone oghta just come out and ask, so I did. Ain't my fault none of you got the balls."

He was met with silence.

"Fine then. Is it safer to ask why Dom's got a bigger stick than usual up his ass?"

"Swear jar. And that's definitely not safer." Letty told him. "But since he's on a beer run, I say go for it."

Everyone looked at Mara, who bounced Jack up and down on her hip and looked at the floor. Finally she looked up and said, "Julius was at the race last night." She quickly related everything that had gone down.

At the end Letty shrugged, "So Julius is an as- jerk. That's not exactly new news."

"No." Mara shook her head. "It was the way he said this wouldn't be Dom's city for long. It was like he knows something we don't. It hasn't sat right with either one of us."

"Do we need to be worried?" Brian asked.

"I don't know."


	9. Chapter 9

Letty cornered Mara after Sunday dinner, "You have got to talk to him."

"What?" Mara asked.

"Dom."

"Aboouut?"

"That stick up his ass. I haven't seen him this… I don't know, fucked up? since we got the call about Han. Something really ain't right."

"Then you talk to him."

"He doesn't listen to me."

"And you think he does listen to me?"

"I know he does."

"How do you figure that?"

Letty looked at her with an incredulous disbelief, "I watched him stop almost the second you told him to when he was beating the shit out Julius at that first race. He didn't argue when you told him to haul his stubborn ass back into his own room. And I talked to Hector. He said the only reason Dom didn't straight up shoot Julius the other night was because you stopped him."

Mara huffed out an amused noise and muttered, "Hector's more observant than I gave him credit for." Then she added more loudly, "If he doesn't listen to anyone else how is there not a string of dead bodies from before I came along?"

"It's not the same. It took years in Lompoc, thugs blowing up cars, Mia screaming, or Brian waving a badge and a gun in his face before he listened to a damn thing." Letty hesitated briefly, "You wanna know what I told Dom not long before you came skidding into our lives?"

Mara raised her eyebrows at the apparent topic shift.

"I told him he needed someone like Brian. Ice to his fire, anchor to his storm, whatever the hell you want to call it. Then out of nowhere, there you are. Brian with tits. And I haven't seen Dom take to anyone like he took to you since Bri showed up. You're good for him. And he's good for you."

"Even if I concede all of that, what the hell am I supposed to say to him? Sure, what Julius said is bugging the hell out of both of us, but neither of us knows why. And even if I did… even if all of what you said is true, we're not actually together. I have no claim on him and he has no claim on me. What right do I have to go prying into his head?"

Letty laughed, "Claim? He claimed you in front of our whole damn scene when he wrapped his arms around you and called you his girl at the race. You think anyone in our world is stupid enough to poach what they even _think_ is Dominic Toretto's territory? You may not be officially together, but no one questions that you are, not even the two of you."

Mara hung her head, "Still doesn't give me the right to go digging."

"Then give yourself the right. You said you don't know what else to do to show Dom, right?"

"Yeah."

"Just show him you."

"Shit… that's… complicated."

"I'm sure it is. But Dom doesn't do things half-assed. You want him to take you, he's gotta see all of you first."

* * *

When the clock hit midnight and Dom still hadn't come in, Mara decided to go to him. She snagged two Coronas from the fridge on her way through the kitchen and headed toward the light in the garage. Dom sat in a chair, facing the Charger. He didn't look up when Mara walked into the garage and shut the door behind her. He accepted the beer she held out to him in silence. Instead of pulling up another chair, she settled herself on his lap. The fact that he just shifted so they were both more comfortable instead of questioning it just went to show that Letty was probably right. She took a long swig of her beer.

"Pretty much everyone has asked me why we're not screwing yet." she said.

Dom chuckled quietly, "Hell of a way to start a conversation."

She shrugged, "Letty's the only one who hasn't asked me why. She has an interesting theory as to what the answer is, though."

"Oh?"

"I'm paraphrasing here, but she thinks you're waiting for me to show you that I trust you… show you that I'm in this and I'm not going anywhere. She close?"

She felt Dom sigh inaudibly against her back before he answered quietly, "Maybe."

Mara took another long swig of her beer. "I fell in love with him." she winced even as it came out of her mouth. Probably not the best place to start, but it was already out. "The guy who ran the crew I was undercover with. He was charming, brilliant, and one hell of a driver. By the time I realized what a manipulative bastard he was, I was in the middle of pulling off a rather intricate crash and burn to save him."

"Why didn't you turn it back on him? If you're anything like Bri, and we all know you are, you could've flipped it."

Mara smiled slightly, "I probably could have. But I had more than half his cash stashed and I had transferred a lot of his assets to one of my aliases that absolutely no one knew existed. Without me, more than half his organization would be crippled. And there was no way he would notice it until it was too late."

"If he would have stood behind you, he would've gotten it back. But if he turned his back on you…" Dom inferred.

"Then he fucked himself over and wouldn't know it 'til I was locked up and he couldn't get to me or his money."

"Smart. If he cared, you got a crew. If he didn't, you were set for when you got out." Dom chuckled. "So why'd the Bureau want this guy so bad?"

"Runs drugs, weapons and cash all over the continent. Mostly east coast of the States. Supplies a ton of major criminal organizations. Pulls off heists you wouldn't believe. He's dangerous."

"Brian know about all of this?"

"No one but you."

"This guy ever gonna come after you?"

Mara shrugged.

"Well, if he does…"

"I know my family's got my back."

After a few minutes, Dom asked quietly, "What's his name?"

"Alexander."

"No associating with Alexander's, then."

Mara laughed and took the last swig of her beer before setting the bottle down and turning herself around to straddle Dom. He set his own beer down and grasped her hips to steady her as she leaned down to kiss him. She opened her mouth willingly when his tongue pressed gently against her bottom lip. A shiver ran through her entire frame as one of his hands ghosted up along her spine and before landing heavily on her neck and pulling her even closer to him. She went willingly, rolling her hips teasingly. He groaned into her mouth as she pressed her chest tight to his.

He pulled back when her hand drifted to the waist of his jeans. He stopped her with the hand that had been grasping her hip. She pulled her face back far enough to meet his eyes, a question in hers. He shook his head and moved his hand from her neck to brush a stray lock of hair out of her flushed face.

"We're not doing this like this." he told her roughly.

Mara cocked her head to the side, "Like what?"

"I am not going to fuck you in the garage like some race bunny our first time."

A smile ghosted across her face and she had to bite her lip to avoid calling him a romantic… or make some other teasing comment that would be equally detrimental to her sex life.

Instead, she leaned her forehead gently against his, and closed her eyes, "Take me to bed, then."


	10. Chapter 10

Monday morning dawned too early, and Mara grumbled a curse at the light the fell across her eyes before rolling away from it… and into the solid mass of Dom's bare back. She almost rolled away. Regardless of the fact that they'd been sharing a bed for weeks, and despite their banter, they had kept to their own sides of the bed. Then she remembered the events of the night before, and vaguely registered that neither of them had bothered to put so much as underwear back on, and pushed closer instead, gently kissing his shoulder before resting her cheek against his back.

Mara didn't realize she'd drifted off until sometime later when Rome came crashing, uninvited, in to the room.

"Yo, Mar – oh, hell no! I did not need to see this." Rome exclaimed.

Mara glared at him, "Well, heaven forbid you fucking knock."

"I fucking… looks like you're the one fucking." Rome smirked.

Mara groaned and buried her face against Dom's back, "Rome. You have ten seconds to tell me what you want before I shoot you."

"You wouldn't –"

"If she doesn't, I will." Dom's voice rumbled, rough from sleep.

"Right, I, uh… I forgot." Rome clapped his hands together and slowly backed toward the door, "I'm sure I'll remember later. And I'll uh… catch you then."

The door slammed behind him as he made his escape.

Dom rolled over to face her, "Morning."

She smiled, "Morning… guess we don't have to worry about telling everyone we, uh… yeah."

Dom chuckled. "Everyone'll know before we even manage to make it downstairs."

Mara shook her head, "I am not facing the hoards until I shower."

* * *

"Why the hell do I smell baby oil in the shop?" Rome's voice carried across the bay.

Mara looked up, ready to revisit her earlier threat of shooting him, if only to get him to shut the hell up, when she spotted a guy tatted arms striding in like he owned the place. A petite Latina trailed him.

"Hobbs." she greeted, stepping away from the car she was working on and wiping her hands on a shop rag.

Luke Hobbs was not a man who was easily surprised, so Mara didn't bother hiding her smirk when his eyes widened at the sight of her, "Spilner. Shit. This just got a whole lot more interesting."

Rome sidled up behind her and threw an arm around her shoulders, eying Hobbs, "Jack's too big for baby oil, you're gonna have to hit the corner shop like regular folks."

"And your forehead's still too big for the rest of your head." Hobbs retorted. "Where's Toretto?"

Mara shrugged, "Busy."

Hobbs tried not to let his irritation show, but she saw it, "O'Conner?"

Mara smiled brightly, "Busy."

Hobbs glared at her.

"I could always send Rome looking for them." she offered sweetly.

"Why don't we do that?"

"Why I gotta be the errand boy?" Rome whined.

Mara glared at him, "You are still on my shit list, and I'm still not entirely past the urge to shoot you today, Rome. Go."

"Snow Queen." he muttered as he stalked off.

Hobbs looked her up and down assessing, "Heard you were doing a stint in Dublin."

Mara nodded, "I did."

He shook his head, "I didn't believe it."

She cocked her head to the side, "You didn't get your hands on my file?"

He shook his head again, "Even the redacted version is classified to hell and back."

Mara smirked.

"Do I even want to know?"

"Probably not."

"How'd you fall in with this crew?" he asked, clearly honestly curious.

Mara smiled genuinely, "Grew up with Brian and Rome. Bri and Dom were there the day I got out."

"Can't imagine your parole officer likes you associating with Toretto."

Mara shrugged, "They don't have any records and this is a legitimate job. They can't say a damn thing. You trying to say _you_ don't like me associating with them?"

He shrugged, "They're not so bad. For criminals."

Mara rolled her eyes, "Your concern is touching."

"Hey, no need for the sarcasm."

Mara smirked and looked past him, to where the Latina was leaning against the bay door, keeping a respectful distance, but her eyes never strayed from Hobbs for more than a few minutes, "So how long have you been sleeping with your partner?"

She was rewarded with another bout of shock he couldn't quite hide. He was saved from answering by Dom's entrance. Mara was acutely aware of how he placed himself faux casually between her and Hobbs.

She stepped defiantly into the open and glared at him, "I don't need the protective alpha male bullshit, Toretto. And I certainly don't need protection from Luke."

Dom turned and raised an incredulous eyebrow at her, "'Luke'?"

Mara shrugged, "We knew each other when I was on the other side of the law."

Dom nodded in quick acceptance before turning back to the DSS agent, "What do you want Hobbs?"

"I need your crew." Hobbs answered simply.

"Not interested." Dom turned to walk away.

"Shaw." Hobbs called after him.

Dom froze and Mara's blood ran cold.

Dom turned around slowly.

"Your crew took out Owen Shaw. And when Ian Shaw came after you for it, you took him out. I'm giving you the chance to close the book on the Shaw family once and for all."

Mara felt her knees giving out and leaned back against the nearest car.

Dom stared hard at Hobbs, "Explain."

"They had another brother. And he's coming for you Toretto. I'm giving your crew the option to take him out without getting new records."

Dom smirked, but it was cold. "And that's all the incentive I get?"

Hobbs scoffed, "What else do you want?"

Dom jerked his chin toward Mara without taking his eyes off Hobbs, "Her record cleared."

"I'll see what I can do."

"I'll talk to my team. What do I need to know about this guy?"

"He's pissed as hell at you and looking to take L.A. as revenge. He's the youngest, but he's also the most brilliant and ruthless of the three."

Dom raised an eyebrow, "Name?"

"Alexander." Mara said, voice shaking.

Both men's head snapped toward her with a simultaneous, "What?"

Mara gulped and repeated herself more clearly, "Alexander." She looked up at Hobbs, "You want us to take Alexander fucking Shaw on headfirst because you know you can't handle him yourself."


	11. Chapter 11

"NO!" Mara screamed, slamming her fist on the desk and rattling the windows of the shop office.

"You said you would let your family be there for you." Dom screamed right back at her.

Mara took a deep breath and reined her temper in as best as she could. She waited until she knew her voice would come out steadily to speak again, "I said if he came after me. This isn't him coming after me. This is him making a play for the city. This is him coming after you. He's pissed at you, and seeing me with your crew won't help your case. Taking Alexander on head-on is suicide."

Dom stepped forward and lifted a hand to her cheek, "Ara, we really don't have a choice."

She closed her eyes and leaned into his touch, "I know."

She opened her eyes and straightened, "Fine, but we do this smart. We plan. And we ask for a hell of a lot more than my record getting cleared. This isn't worth just that."

* * *

"None of you have to do this." Mara said quietly, surveying everyone spread around the living room. "Hell, I honestly hope you don't."

"Do what?" Rome asked impatiently as he gestured to the fed leaning by the door, "Hobbs visits then everyone's all kinds of tense and ya'll haven't told us, at all, what the hell is going on."

Mara glanced toward Dom.

Dom took his cue, "We're going after Alexander Shaw."

"Shaw?!" Tej spit his beer halfway across the room, "There's another one of those fuckers?"

A few people chuckled at his subsequent furtive glance around the room to make sure Jack wasn't in earshot.

Mara stepped back in, "Owen Shaw was bad. Ian was worse. Combine the two of them, and they aren't even half as bad as Alexander. He's twice as conniving as Owen, three times as vengeful as Ian, and five times as ruthless as the two of them combined."

"Fact is, he's not really giving us an option." Brian interjected, "He's coming for us, whether we're ready and willing to take him on or not."

"So we get ready." Dom said, with a glance at Mara.

"What aren't you telling us?" Letty asked steadily. All eyes in the room turned to her, curious. "For as bad as you're saying this guy is, and with the one encounter I had with him, I'm inclined to believe you… you guys seem pretty calm about all this shit."

"The woman has a point." Hobbs agreed. He nodded toward Dom and Mara at the head of the room, "The two of you had your little screaming match in the office then came out cool as ice."

Dom smirked.

Mara took a deep breath, "He won't expect me."

"You?" Hobbs asked.

Mara quirked an eyebrow, "You ever wonder why my file was redacted to hell and back?"

Hobbs shrugged, "Active cas- awh shit."

"Shaw was the guy you took the fall for." Brian surmised.

Mara nodded.

Dom's smirk grew, "She also seriously fucked up his organization."

Curious gazes settled on her.

Mara looked at the feds, "Hobbs, you repeat a word of what I'm about to say, I will kill and leave your body in the desert for the coyotes to get fat on. We clear?"

Hobbs nodded, "Crystal."

Mara nodded back before turning her attention to the group in general, "I control, more or less, half of Shaw's assets. As part of my cover up when I took the fall, I transferred a lot of his assets out between a few of my own aliases. It let him get away clean, and there's no way he would have realized any of it was gone until months after I was in jail. He would have gotten it back. If he would've stood by me..." Mara's voice caught and she shook her head quickly, "He abandoned me and effectively cut himself off from a substantial percentage of his assets. I'm probably not far behind you lot on his shit list."

Tej let out a low whistle, "Damn."

"How do you know he doesn't know you're part of Dom's crew now?" Elena's lilting voice carried over for the first time.

Mara shook her head, "That's a fair point. And it would make his coming after you guys now make more sense, but he doesn't know where I vanished to after Dublin. I've kept my ear to the ground. He's looking for me, but he hasn't found me yet."

"So we have the element of surprise." Brian said.

Mara nodded, "We have to hit him hard and fast from all sides as soon as we know what his plan is. I'm hanging low until he thinks he's won. Then, and only then, do we tip our hand. I know how he works. Me showing up will throw him off enough to give us a chance."

"No one needs to feel obligated to stay. We won't think worse of anyone who books it underground 'til this is over."

Sean answered first, shaking his head, "This is the life I chose."

"You don't turn your back on family." Brian said.

Letty grinned slightly, "Ride or die, remember?"


	12. Chapter 12

"Who runs this scene?" a British voice asked cooly.

Hector swiveled around to face the voice, and answered with an easy grin, "That would be me."

The man, who Hector assumed was every woman's perfect definition of tall, dark, and handsome, gave him a depreciating smirk and replied in a bored tone, "You are clearly the organizer. That by no means implies you run the L.A. race scene. That honor goes to the racers to beat."

Hector cocked an eyebrow at him, "If that's what you wanted to know, all you had to do was ask. Toretto and O'Conner are the best drivers in the city, but neither of them races much these days. Snow Queen's the one to beat."

Tall, Dark, and Handsome cocked an eyebrow back, "Snow Queen?"

Hector shrugged, "Honestly don't remember her real name, man. Hell, I don't even remember if she ever told me her real name. Between you and me, I was payin' way more attention to her body language than what was comin' outta her mouth, if you get my drift. Anyway, she ain't here tonight."

"And the other two you mentioned?"

Hector jerked his chin to the left, "Follow the crowd. Toretto's always surrounded."

* * *

Dom caught sight of the man approaching Hector and tensed. Tall, athletic build, brown hair so dark it was almost black, jeans that probably cost as much as Dom's entire wardrobe, and a bearing that screamed 'calculating.' He subtly elbowed Brian and almost imperceptibly nodded his head as the man started moving in their direction.

His dark eyes were every bit as cold and calculating as Mara had described to Dom the night before, a shiver she couldn't stop running through her whole body.

He stopped in front of Dom and Brian, his posture the very definition of casual as he nodded toward Dom, "Toretto."

Brian made an overt display of looking him over before turning to Dom, "Friend of yours?"

Dom quirked an eyebrow, and grinned, wide and easy, "I know you?"

He huffed out a small laugh and allowed a small grin, "I think it would be much easier on us all, gentlemen, if we did not play games."

Dom considered for a moment before shrugging, "Something I can do for you, Shaw?"

* * *

Mia glanced toward Mara again, worry clear in her features.

Sean nudged her shoulder, "Mia, relax."

Mia looked at him desperately, "How the hell is she so clam right now?"

Sean chuckled, "You think that's her being calm?"

Mia shot him a look that was somewhere between incredulous and a glare.

"You agree with everyone about how much she and Brian are alike?"

Mia nodded.

"What does Bri do when he's freaking?"

Mia frowned, "He gets really… still. And quiet."

Sean nodded, "Exactly. You ever seen what happens when he gets past the still and quiet?"

Mia nodded again.

"You want her there yet?"

Mia took a deep breath, and shook her head, "No."

* * *

Letty watched Shaw stop in front of Dom and Bri and took a deep breath, a useless attempt to fortify herself. She really fucking hated this plan.

_Mara looked at Letty and Dom, blue eyes wide and serious, as calm as ever._

_Letty shook her head vehemently, "No fucking way."_

"_Absolutely not." Dom agreed._

_Mara sighed and Letty could tell she was fighting the urge to roll her eyes, "It's the only thing that will work."_

"_Bullshit." Letty protested._

_Mara's fists clenched on the table, "Think about it. Can you honestly think of any other reason I would just drop off the scene so fast? No. And this is the only way that makes sure most people will keep their mouths about me so he doesn't figure out who or where I am. Outside our family, no one will even think to question it."_

"That_ is bullshit." Dom growled._

"_Fine, maybe it is." Mara conceded. "But it's still the only thing that's going to work. Besides, Shaw knows Letty's face, and because of his brothers, he'll know her connection to you. So who cares if the local scene questions it? Shaw won't."_

"_I really fucking hate this plan." Letty ground out._

Letty took one more deep breath before squaring her shoulders and starting toward Dom. She walked right up to him, pretending not care enough to register anyone around him and shoved him back against the hood of the Charger before dragging his head down to hers and kissing him almost sloppily. She felt him grin into the kiss as he wrapped one arm around her shoulders and the other around her waist, resting his hand on her ass. She pulled back with a nip to bottom lip.

"And this must be Letty." Shaw sounded amused behind her.

She turned in the circle of Dom's arms and her eyes widened in feigned surprise, "Alexander?"

Shaw inclined his head, "Rumor had it you'd moved on to… different pastures."

Letty shrugged and wriggled back more firmly against Dom, "He tried."

Shaw nodded, "I will admit, I did find it… surprising, after all he went through to get you back."

"Awh, now you're not upset about all that, are you?" Dom chuckled, "I mean, it really wasn't anything personal against Owen. We would've done the same no matter who had her."

Shaw smiled coldly and offered a small shrug, "I was perfectly content to let Ian handle you for your role in Owen's death. I'm really not the sentimental sort. But now Ian's dead too, and you see, at this point it's the principle of the thing."

"So, what? You're here for revenge?"

A cold glint in his eyes joined Shaw's icy smile, "I'm sure one, if not both my brothers, gave you some speech about codes. Owen's was precision. Ian's changed depending on the situation. Mine is much simpler: control. I'm going to take away your family, as you did mine, and I'm going to take away your playground in the process."

Letty felt Brian chuckle next to them, and only some instinct left over of knowing him for so many years, even if she didn't remember many of them, let her know how forced it was. "Last few people who've tried to keep us out of L.A. suddenly found themselves with much shorter life expectancies."

Shaw turned his cold gaze on Brian, "I'm very aware of your track record, Mr. O'Conner. Your enemies thus far have been small, pathetic, and inconsequential. I am none of those things." He inclined his head toward them, "Enjoy your lives while you have them, I'll be seeing you around, gentlemen." He turned and walked back in the direction he came.

"Welcome to L.A." Dom called behind him.

* * *

Mara had gotten annoyed with Mia's worried gaze and retreated to the garage. She paced back and forth as she ran all the worst possible scenarios through her head, _What if I was wrong? What if he already knows I'm here? What if he just kills Dom and uses that to get to the rest of the family?_ She had her phone gripped tightly in one hand and her keys in the other. She had every faith in Dom and Letty, and in Bri, that they could pull this off. But her entire plan hinged on the assumption that Shaw didn't know about her. And what if she was wrong?

The roar of Dom's Charger coming down the street immediately calmed her nerves.

* * *

Dom waited until a good two or three minutes after Shaw's back disappeared to release Letty. He grinned as he watched her suppress a shudder as she stepped away from him.

She looked up at him, "That just felt weird."

He chuckled and nodded his agreement, "Yeah. It did."

"Can we get out of here now? Not gonna lie, that guy gave me the creeps, and I want to get back to Mia and Jack." Brian interjected.

Dom nodded, "Let's go."

Twenty minutes later, Mara barreled into Dom hard enough to knock the breath out of him when he stepped into the garage. He caught her and kept them both on their feet by what Letty assumed was sheer force of will as she climbed out of the passenger seat of the Charger laughing.

"If I didn't know better, I'd think you were worried." Dom told Mara when he caught his breath.

Mara glared up at him. Dom's expression softened as he looked down at her, and Letty couldn't help feeling a small twinge of envy, knowing that he had never looked at her quite like that.

"And if you say _you_ weren't worried, you're a liar, Toretto." Letty accused.

Dom's jaw twitched, but it was enough of an admission for both women to know the observation had been right.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go brush my teeth. Because suddenly, kissing Dom is about the weirdest thing on the damn planet." Letty grumbled on her way out of the garage.

Mara settled against Dom's chest as he pulled the sheet up around her shoulders and she finally asked, "What did he say?"

Dom sighed, "He's coming for us."

"But?"

"He's coming for me last. He wants me to watch him take everyone else first."

"You know we're not going to let that happen."

"I know. We've got a secret weapon."

"So I was right?"

"You were right. You're not even a blip on his radar right now."


	13. Chapter 13

Alexander leaned against the hood of his car and gazed cooly at Hector, "Toretto refuses to race?"

Hector shrugged, "Said he ain't in the mood, _amigo_."

Alexander quirked an eyebrow, "I am not your friend."

"Whatever, man. Only one of Toretto's crew willing to race tonight is Boswell."

"The kid?"

"Yep."

Alexander sighed, almost dramatically, "Any good?"

"Yeah, he's one of the best street racers on this scene. He's Toretto's. You expect anything less?"

Alexander willed his shoulders not to tense, "Very well." He turned to look over his shoulder. "Calvin, you've got the next race. Show Mr. Boswell what he lacks."

The man behind him, tall and too thin, with sharp brown eyes and blonde hair tied at the nape of his neck nodded and climbed into his car as Shaw passed Hector a wad of cash for Calvin's entry.

* * *

Sean eyed the Nissan Silvia idling next to him. Mara had had a guess at what was under the hood, but no guarantees. This race had to be flawless, and Sean would be lying if he said he wasn't nervous as hell. The driver, Mara had said this guy's name was Calvin, looked too lanky to be comfortable driving the little car, but Mara said he was one hell of a driver. Sean took a deep breath and tightened his grip on the shifter and focused on the road ahead of him. This plan might be even crazier than what the crew had told him about Rio.

"_You want me to do what?" Sean sputtered._

_Mara looked at him with seemingly infinite patience and repeated herself, "You need to be a quarter mile ahead of him by this corner. Calvin is a hell of a driver, but a shitty drifter, and you're the best drifter on our crew."_

"_Why that corner, though?"_

"_Look." Mara pointed at the map, "You'll have to take this corner, directly followed by this one. If you're at least close to a quarter mile ahead of him by the first corner, he'll lose sight of you long enough for us to switch the cars."_

"_And my Evo was the best choice?"_

_Mara shrugged, "Tej had an '06 same model as yours sitting in the garage. Easiest mod we could do in such a short time. Besides, _your_ Evo will be safe."_

_Sean shook his head, "This is crazy."_

"_So you won't do it?"_

_He shot her an incredulous look, "Of course I'll do it."_

_He was rewarded with a brilliant smile._

"_I still don't get why we've gotta switch the cars out in the first place. Why can't I just beat him?"_

_Hobbs stepped up and flipped on the tv they'd hooked into the computer, "See this little thing?"_

"_Looks like a metal hockey puck." Sean said._

"_It's a bomb." Hobbs deadpanned._

_Tej's eyes widened and Sean could practically see the gears turning as he tried to figure out how he could duplicate the explosive._

"_Shaw's got a bit of an M.O. with this kind of thing." Mara continued. "He'll expect us to put you in first. You're young and more of a threat than you look. He'll expect the crew to use that to our advantage. It's flat out crippling for a crew to lose their 'kids' and Shaw knows it."_

"_He thinks we won't be able to function if we're grieving." Tej said._

_Mara nodded._

_Sean sat up straighter, "Wait! He's gonna try and kill me?!"_

_Mara grinned, "_Try_ being the operative word."_

The start signaled and Sean stomped the gas. The first straight half mile he was neck and neck with Calvin. He pulled in and ahead on the first curve, and further ahead on the second curve. When the first corner was about three quarters of a mile down a straight stretch, he his NOS, not missing the confusion on Calvin's face as he jetted ahead. By logical standards, it was way too damn soon for NOS. He drifted the two corners a little jerkily – too much NOS still running through the system – but managed to lose sight of Calvin. He yanked a hard right into a dark parking garage as an identical car shot out from the exit on the other side of the building. He whipped around into a parking spot just as Calvin's Silvia skidded around the corner and sped past the parking garage.

* * *

Mara whipped the duplicate Evo out of the garage in the same second Sean pulled in. Less than two seconds later, Calvin's car shot into view behind her. She toyed with him a bit, let him almost catch her before shooting ahead again. She finally let him pass her, with the obvious assistance of his own NOS, on the final curve. With the finish line and crowd in sight, she let him line up directly in front of her and watched as a small, round circle of metal dropped from the undercarriage of his car. She forced herself to steer the car straight forward. Seconds later, the world exploded with a bang and flash of fire as the Evo flew in the air, flipped several times, and managed to land right-side-up once again before the flames hit the NOS and caused another earth-shattering explosion.

* * *

Letty watched the cars fly around the final curve, and was honestly a little surprised to see Shaw's driver in the lead. Apparently he really was as good as Mara said. Or maybe Mara had told Sean to let the guy win – boost Shaw's ego or something like that. She was leaning toward that theory, because Sean wasn't even trying to get around the Siliva, he was just staying lined up behind the guy.

Then, before Letty knew what was happening, Sean's car launched into the air with an explosion she felt all the way at the finish line. The crowd around her erupted in screams and shouts. Most of the crowd immediately ran and she heard and felt cars all around her taking off, but she felt cemented to the ground as she watched the car flip and land again. A small group that had remained began to move toward the car, but immediately retreated when someone yelled something about NOS. The next explosion knocked Letty off her feet, but still she just stared. She didn't move until she felt someone pull her to her feet. She turned to face Brian's wide blue eyes.

"Come on!" Brian shook her. "Dom took off after Shaw."

That snapped her out of her shock as the anger set in, and she launched herself toward her car and took off after Dom's quickly receding tail lights, and knew that Brian would be right behind her.

* * *

Dom watched the explosion, and knew right away it was over. It took only a moment to find Shaw as he scanned the crowd. Shaw met his eyes and smirked before he calmly climbed into his car and joined the throng of cars speeding away. Dom saw red and threw himself into the Charger and followed without a second thought. Somewhere in his mind, he knew his crew would follow, but that didn't seem to matter. He followed Shaw to an empty lot on the outskirts of the warehouse district and slammed his door hard enough to make the car shake when he got out. He vaguely registered the sound of Brian, Letty, and Rome's cars as they pulled in behind him. He moved toward Shaw and didn't stop as he used the momentum of the movement to add more power to the fist he slammed into Shaw's face.

Shaw stumbled back and landed hard against the hood of his car. Dom kept him upright by fisting a hand in his shirt and pulled his fist back again.

"Give me one good reason not to." Dom growled out, voice trembling in rage.

Shaw grinned, bloody mouth and all, without so much as a grimace at his clearly broken nose, "Because one family member is enough to lose in one night, don't you think?"

Dom glanced over his shoulder to see sniper's lasers trained on Brian, Letty, and Rome. He released Shaw and shoved him back roughly with a growl. Shaw leaned over to spit a gob of blood on the ground near his feet before straightening up and casually smoothing out his shirt.

He smirked at Dom, "I knew you could be reasoned with."

"You'll pay for this."

Shaw laughed, "No. I won't. Don't you see, Toretto? This is my game. And this is just the beginning."


	14. Chapter 14

Sean waited half an hour before leaving the garage and hailing a cab. He stopped it about two blocks from the house and took back alleys until he could sneak in through the back yard. When he walked in to the living room, Mia and Twinkie both sat on the couch, staring at the television as tears streamed down their faces. He took a breath before he braced himself and stepped into the living room. Mia looked up at the sound and her face briefly registered shock before she jumped off the couch and threw her arms around him. Twinkie stared in equal shock as Sean caught Mia. Mia pulled back and punched him in the arm.

"Ow!" Sean protested.

"What the hell?!" Mia demanded, gesturing to the flaming wreck on the television screen.

Sean fidgeted, "Everyone else back yet?"

Mia glared.

"Look, I'm fine. I just… we need to wait for everyone else."

Mia nodded jerkily and pulled him onto the couch in between her and Twinkie. Twinkie gave him an awkward hug and Mia wrapped her arms around one if his and rested her head on his shoulder, but still stared at the flaming wreck on the screen.

* * *

It seemed like hours passed in the mere thirty minutes it took to drive back to the house after Shaw let them go. Brian slammed through the back door with Letty, Dom, and Rome right behind him.

"Mia!" Brian called.

She came running from the living room and straight into his arms. He buried his face in her hair as he wrapped his arms around her and took a steadying breath.

"Mia…" he choked out. "Sean… he –"

"Is fine." Mia cut in.

Brian pulled back and looked down at her, confusion clear on his face.

"Sean is fine. He's in the living room. I would've called, but we agreed not to use our phones 'til this was all done, and…"

Everyone rushed toward the living room as Mia trailed off. Sean stood from the couch and had the grace to look a little sheepish.

"What the fuck, man?!" Letty found her voice first.

Sean shrugged, "I wasn't driving."

"We watched you take off." Brian said.

Sean bit his lip and shuffled his feet before repeating, "I wasn't driving."

"Fine. Then who the fuck was?" Rome demanded.

Sean took a deep breath, "Mara."

* * *

"_Alright," Sean drawled, "he's gonna try and kill me. How is that not gonna work?"_

"_We're switching the cars." Mara repeated._

_Sean nodded. "Someone's still gotta be driving the second car, though."_

_Tej grinned, "Not necessarily."_

"_Explain." Sean demanded, getting impatient._

"_There's another reason it's gotta be your Evo. 2006. It's all computerized."_

"_Oookkaaay?"_

_Tej held up a computer chip about the size of his palm, "I install this in our duplicate car, and we'll be able to drive it remotely."_

_Sean looked doubtful, "Well enough to win a race?"_

_Mara chuckled, "Well enough to intentionally lose a race."_

"_I'll set up a sort of simulator by attaching cameras to various points of the car. She'll be able to drive it almost as if she was in it." Tej explained._

"_With the added benefit of no one getting blown up." Hobbs added._

"_Alright, that all makes sense, I guess. I even get why we've got it set up in Tej's garage – it ain't being watched like Toretto's."_

"_But?" Mara prodded._

"_Why are we the only ones here?"_

_Mara bit her lip, "We can't tell anyone else." she took a deep breath, "Their reactions have to be genuine. Shaw will know if they're faking."_

"_They have to think I died."_

_Mara nodded, "Just until after they confront Shaw."_

"_This is bullshit."_

_Mara grimaced, "I know."_

* * *

"What do you mean Mara was driving?" Dom's voice rumbled from the living room as Mara and Tej snuck through the back door.

Mara darted into the living room and leapt between Dom and Sean as Dom was apparently reaching for Sean's neck.

She held her hands up, "I'm fine. I was driving it remotely."

Relief warred with rage across Dom's features.

Letty spoke before either could win out. "What the fuck?!"

Mara took a deep breath and turned to face the rest of the crew, "Look, I'm sorry. This one is all on me and you can hate me for it as long as you want."

"Explain, now." Rome demanded, plopping into a chair to her left.

"We duplicated Sean's car. We switched them out when he was out of sight long enough and I drove the duplicate remotely from Tej's."

"You knew this was gonna happen." Rome sounded disbelieving.

Mara nodded, "I know how this bastard operates."

"You didn't tell any of us." Letty accused bitterly.

Mara shook her head.

"Why?"

"Our reactions." Brian said.

Mara nodded.

"What?" Letty glared at him.

"Our reactions had to be genuine. Shaw wouldn't have believed anything else." Brian elaborated.

"That's fucked up." Letty snarled, but there was a little less venom in her voice.

Everyone else seemed to relax marginally. Mara was too scared to turn around and face Dom, so she met each crew member's eyes in turn, offering silent apologies. When Dom's hands settled heavily, but gently, on her shoulders, she took it as the peace offering and forgiveness it was and leaned back against him, letting the stress-induced exhaustion of the last few days start to sink in a bit.

"Wait." Letty said, "There was a body. I saw it."

Mara grimaced, "Hobbs bought a cadaver from UCLA. Close enough to Sean's age, height, and build that hopefully this will be over before Shaw realizes he's not dead."

Letty shook her head and shuddered, "That's nasty."

Mara nodded in agreement as silence settled over the room.

"So what's next?" Dom's voice rumbled next to her ear.


	15. Chapter 15

"No more stunts like that." Dom told her in the privacy of their room.

Mara shook her head stubbornly, "I can't promise you that."

Dom's shoulders tensed and his jaw ticked.

Mara held her hands up placatingly, "If we're going to pull this off, I have to be as cold-hearted and calculating as Shaw. When I can give you the whole picture, I will. But you have to understand there will be times that I can't and just trust me to reach the end game."

Dom's jaw ticked again and Mara waited for the screaming to start. She was surprised when he just shook his head and slammed the door on his way out of the room.

* * *

"Where the fuck are my keys?" Dom's voice roared furiously throughout the house.

Letty looked up from the magazine she had been reading and turned a pointed look at Sean and Twinkie, then another on Rome and Tej.

"You guys might want to scatter about now." she told them, holding the keys to the Charger up.

All four sets of eyes widened before Sean and Twinkie bolted for the basement door and within less than a minute squealing tires were heard as Rome and Tej peeled away. Letty set her magazine aside and raised her eyebrows challengingly as Dom stormed into the room.

"Have you seen my –" he cut off abruptly as he looked at the keys clutched in her hand. He held his own hand out expectantly, but she just closed her hand over them and sat back against the couch.

"Letty, give me my damn keys." he growled.

"No." Letty answered calmly.

His eyebrows shot up, "Letty –"

"No," she cut him off, "Don't 'Letty' me. I am not giving you these damn keys until I'm sure you don't still have your head up your ass."

"You wanna run that by me again?" Dom asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I said: Pull your head out of your ass."

"You're gonna have to explain a bit better than that." Dom glowered at her.

Letty rolled her eyes, "I'm just taking a guess here, but you told Mara you wanted to know everything from here on out, and then she told you to fuck off, so now you're gonna go drive around L.A. like a maniac, maybe try and find a fight."

Dom narrowed his eyes, but didn't respond.

Letty shrugged, "So more or less."

Dom continued glaring.

"Dom, you don't know this guy. He's bad news. Mara is the only one of us who can even begin to understand him, and you need to take a minute to consider how fucked up your girl is gonna be feeling trying to think like him. She doesn't need you snapping and taking off when she doesn't tell you every detail because she can't. She needs you to back her up and trust her plays." Letty told him steadily. "So cool the fuck off, and then go figure out what's gonna work." Letty snarled the last part at him before she pushed off the couch and stalked past him, out the front door, with his keys still in hand.

* * *

Mia didn't even try to pretend she hadn't been listening when Dom turned around and spotted her seated on the stairs. He sunk wearily onto a stair a couple below hers.

"Am I being a bastard?" he asked quietly.

"Yes." Mia told him plainly.

"I don't know…"

"Talk to her."

"I don't even know what to say, sis."

Mia moved down to sit right next to him and grasped his chin, forcing him to meet her eyes, "Then figure it out. Fix this."

"How?"

Mia sighed, "Remember that she knows what she's doing. She was a cop for a long time. And she was undercover with Shaw for a long time. She can do this, but she needs to know that you trust her to do it, or she's going to keep second-guessing herself, and that'll get all of us killed way faster than you not knowing everything."

* * *

Dom stood with his hand on the doorknob for a full five minutes before working up the courage to swing it open and step back into the bedroom. Mara didn't look at him. She sat with her back against the wall and glared at the floor, instead. Dom lowered himself next to her.

"I'm sorry."

Mara's head jerked up and she looked at him with a wide-eyed surprise.

He raised an eyebrow in question.

"Straight-forward apologies aren't really your style." she explained.

He grinned wryly, "Not really any way to beat around the bush on this one."

She nodded before she leaned her head back against the wall.

"I'm not…I'm not very good at this." he started quietly, "Giving up control and just going along for the ride. I always have a back-up plan, a contingency, and I can't do that this time."

She smirked humorlessly as he watched her profile, "No, you can't."

"But I trust you to take care of the family."

* * *

Mara scowled at the room around her. Every wall was covered with photographs and hand-written or typed notes, graphs, charts, and maps. Her scowl was focused mostly on the photographs of Shaw's crew. When she heard the door behind her open and shut again, she gestured at the display before her as she spun on Hobbs.

"This is useless." she scowled at him.

"It's worked for us so far." he drawled back.

Mara glared, "For you. This isn't my style."

"No, your style is diving headfirst into the trouble."

"I don't know half this crew. I can't take them out if I don't know their weak points. Their files are helpful, but they only tell me so much. I need a more hands on approach."

"What are you suggesting?"

* * *

Mara tugged at her skirt impatiently as she examined herself in the mirror. The denim skirt barely covered her ass, the fitted, torn-up tee only covered half her stomach and dipped the reveal an ample amount of cleavage, and her tight, knee-high boots accentuated her calves. Her long blonde hair was pinned tightly under a cropped brunette wig, her blue eyes were covered by hazel contacts, and a bit of well-layered makeup made her cheek bones look higher than her natural features. She wouldn't catch Shaw's eye as anything more than a race bunny, but she looked just like Calvin's type. She sighed in resignation and made her way downstairs.

Rome's jaw dropped and he shook his head as if trying to clear his vision when she walked into the living room. He looked her up and down again and again until she lost her patience.

"A picture would last longer." she snapped.

His mouth snapped shut and he managed to stumble out, "Ready to go?"

She rolled her eyes and stalked toward the door.

* * *

Dom looked on in amusement as Mara draped herself over Rome's arm. If he didn't know better, he would never have known it was her. He was almost disturbed at how well she played the role of race bunny. She kept shooting glances at Shaw's second, Calvin, and when Rome pretended not to be looking, she straight up ogled the guy. Calvin clearly took notice from where he was parked at the starting line for the next race.

It only took about 20 minutes of her little show for Calvin to walk over to the pair. Rome clearly didn't have to put much effort into sneering and tensing at the guy. Dom was too far away to hear what Calvin said, but Mara pouted and simpered up at Rome, who then made a show of rolling his eyes indulgently pressing his keys into Mara's hand and waving Hector down to hand over an entry fee. Dom was close enough to hear Mara's squeal of delight as she shimmied into the car and pulled it up next to Calvin's.

She lost the race spectacularly, pulling in at third place, almost a full two minutes behind Calvin. As she got out of the car, she completely ignored Rome aside from the attention required to return his keys and turned her attention to fawning over Calvin. Dom wasn't the least bit surprised when they left together 20 minutes later. He waited another hour before waving his own crew off toward home.

The next morning, Dom couldn't help but smirk at the sight of Calvin's flaming car on the news as he sipped his coffee and Mara wrapped her arms around his waist from behind.


	16. Chapter 16

"_Where do you wanna go?" Calvin's raspy voice asked._

_Mara grinned mischievously as she tucked a wayward strand of her brunette wig behind her ear and bit her lip, pretending to be considering._

"_Anywhere you want." he added._

"_You like swimming?" she asked, feigning uncertainty and knowing full well he loved it._

_He grinned over at her, "Got a good spot?"_

_She nodded, "A few miles up. Take Exit 32, there's a neat little cove about half a mile off the service road."_

"_You take all your racers there?" he asked curiously._

"_You see anyone else?" she quipped back._

_His grin grew. Ten minutes later they stepped onto a secluded beach. Without turning to face him, Mara skipped out of her boots, stripped off her shirt and shimmied out of her skirt, grateful for the dark; her whole plan would go to hell in a hand basket in five seconds flat if Calvin recognized her too soon, and he knew her scars. She waded in to her waist before turning around._

"_Coming?" she called._

_Calvin looked amused as he stripped down to his boxers and joined her in the water. She smiled seductively as he reached for her waist._

"_There's something familiar about you…" he murmured._

_Mara cocked her head to the side, "Good familiar?"_

_Calvin shook his head and shrugged, "Doesn't matter."_

_Mara smirked and dropped the simpering tone she'd been using all night as his eyes roved over her body, "It just might."_

_His head jerked back up to meet her eyes. His narrowed, briefly, before returning to her body more intently. Knowing what he was looking for, she braced herself on his shoulders and shifted so her right side could be seen in the moonlight. His hands tightened on her waist when his eyes landed on the scar at the top her ribs that he'd given her shortly after she had first joined Shaw's crew._

"_Mara." his tone was a mixture of accusation and wariness. _

"_Got it in one." she replied dryly._

_He smirked wryly, "I told Shaw we should've dealt with you before going after Toretto."_

_She inclined her head in acknowledgement, "Probably."_

"_Well," he sighed, "You've got me away from my phone and my car. Now what? You try to drown me in the ocean?"_

_Mara threw her head back and laughed, "You're not getting off that easy."_

_Calvin jumped when, as if on cue, the sound of rumbling engines filled the air. He turned swiftly to watch three cars approach._

"_Friends of yours?" he asked casually, turning back to her._

_She just smirked._

"_Wisest course of action?" he asked as figures poured out of the cars and onto the beach._

_Her smirk grew, "You always did have a good survival instinct. Walk back to the beach. Stay ahead of me. Don't go for your clothes or your car. You try anything, and they will shoot you."_

_He nodded and followed her instructions. Mara walked straight toward Rome while Hobbs handcuffed Calvin. Rome shrugged out of his shirt and passed it over to her. She gratefully buttoned it up over her bra and underwear, sparing an amused thought to the fact that it covered more than her skirt had. She rolled the sleeves as she turned to face Calvin._

"_This hack is obviously a fed. Am I being arrested?" Calvin directed the question at Mara._

_Mara gave him a dark grin, "Arrested? Again, too easy. I like you, Cal. Always have. Shaw's the one I want. You're going to help me get him."_

_His expression became incredulous, "You can't honestly expect me to willingly go against Shaw."_

"_Not at all. As far as Shaw's aware, you'll be dead tomorrow morning."_

_Calvin paled._

"_Relax. I'm not actually going to kill you." she reassured before adding, "Though I can't guarantee no one else in my crew will try. Pissed doesn't even begin to cover their feeling in regards to Sean."_

"_Sean?"_

_Mara quirked an eyebrow._

_Calvin's eyes widened as the pieces clicked into place, "The kid. You're running with Toretto."_

_Mara turned to walk away, but called back over her shoulder, "All yours for now Hobbs. Keep him out of sight!"_

_She bent to retrieve his clothes and fished his cell phone out of his pocket. She tossed the phone to Tej, who set to work cloning it as Elena pulled up in a van._

_Mara nodded to her, "Got it?"_

"_Yes. Who is helping?" Elena replied._

"_Rome."_

_Rome blanched. "Oh hell no! I am not touching some dead body!"_

_Mara quelled his protest with a glare and shoved Calvin's clothes into his hands before walking back over to Tej._

_Tej handed her two phones, "This is the original, this is the clone."_

"_You're fucking brilliant. Anyone ever tell you that?"_

_He grinned, "Not nearly often enough."_

"_Alright, your dead guy is in the damn car!" Rome called._

_Mara opened the passenger door of Calvin's Silvia and shoved the original phone into the front pocket of the jeans, then dug out the .40 she knew he kept in the center console._

"_Everyone clear?" she called?"_

"_Yes!" Elena's voice responded._

_Mara flicked the safety off and fired two rounds point blank into the cadaver's skull, flinching as the glass of the window shattered. She used the corner of her shirt to wipe her prints off the gun before dropping it in the passenger seat and climbing out. Rome leaned into the car with a roll of paper towels and a bottle of bleach, quickly and efficiently wiping down anything she could have touched._

_Mara retrieved a gas can from Elena's van and held it up as Rome finished wiping down the door handles, "Since I made you touch the dead body, you wanna do the honors?"_

_Rome's face lit up like a little kid on Christmas morning, "Oh hell yeah! Now we're talking."_

_Mara couldn't help but laugh as he gleefully doused the car in gas._

"_Alright, everyone roll out!" Mara called._

_She climbed into the driver's seat of Rome's car and pulled up next to the Silvia as Rome left a trail of gasoline into the middle of the road. She pulled up next to him and he climbed into the passenger seat. She handed him a cheap plastic lighter, which he lit and dropped to the trail of gas. Mara floored it before he even had his door closed. The explosion rocked the car even a quarter mile away._

* * *

"You blew up my car?!" Calvin practically screeched.

Mara looked at him blandly, "I could have left you in it." she reminded him.

He glowered.

She shrugged, "Besides, we both know the Silvia wasn't your favorite."

"And that's supposed to make me feel better?" he spat incredulously.

"Calvin," Mara sighed deeply, "I don't have the time or patience to feel sorry for you. I like you, but I am not opposed to putting a bullet in you. And if you really piss me off, I'll let Toretto in here instead."

Calvin's eyes narrowed, "_Let_ him?"

She shrugged, "The only reason he hasn't come in here and beat the shit out of you is because I asked him nicely not to. Try my patience, and I won't be nice anymore."

"I was under the impression that Toretto did whatever the hell he wanted."

"He did before she came along." Hobbs muttered from the corner.

Calvin's eyes widened and Mara shot him a glare.

"You're fucking Toretto." Calvin laughed, "I'm sensing a pattern here."

Mara's grin could have been the devil's own, "What do you know about Toretto?"

Calvin stopped laughing, "His crew is his family and family is his code. His crew is the best in L.A. and no one can seem to fucking touch him. No one can tell him a damn thing."

"L.A.?" Mara laughed incredulously, "Dominic Toretto runs the best crew in the _world_. And you're right, no one can touch us. As for no one telling him anything… he seems to listen to me just fine. And I know Shaw. I know how he operates. The combination of those facts should scare the hell out of you. Should scare the hell out of Shaw. I've been a step ahead before you even hit dirt in L.A."

"Step ahead?" Calvin laughed this time, "You were never even in the game. You really think you're in league with Shaw?"

Mara quirked an eyebrow and knocked twice on the desk. Calvin watched her curiously until the door opened. Calvin's jaw dropped when Sean walked in. His eyes darted back and forth between Sean and Mara.

"How?" he finally sputtered.

"Like I said, step ahead."

Calvin shook his head, "You're not even playing the same game. Shaw took out a kid. You went straight to the top of his chain of command. You're not pulling any punches. That's not the game Shaw's playing."

"And that's why I'm going to win."

Calvin stared at her, still wide-eyed and dumbstruck.

"The only question is whether or not you're going to use that to help yourself."

Calvin swallowed thickly as his gaze flicked between Mara, Sean, and Hobbs. Finally, his shoulders slumped, "What do you need?"

"Give me a breakdown of his crew."


	17. Chapter 17

"I must admit I'm surprised, Toretto. I'm almost impressed."

Dom looked over Letty's head as she spun in his arms to face Shaw; he quirked an eyebrow in question.

"Don't play coy, Dominic. It's not attractive in a man of your position." Shaw scoffed.

Dom's other eyebrow went up.

Shaw nearly rolled his eyes. "I didn't expect you to pay back like for like, honestly."

Dom leaned forward, "What the fuck are you talking about Shaw?"

Shaw narrowed his eyes and studied Dom carefully.

"Silvia." Shaw said carefully.

Dom shrugged, "The one on the news this morning? Shame, it was nice car. Don't see what it has to do with me."

"It was one of mine." Shaw said calmly.

Dom's eyes hardened, "Am I supposed to feel bad?"

"So you're saying you had nothing to do with it? It wasn't some paltry revenge for the kid?"

Letty rolled her eyes and turned back around in Dom's arms and started kissing his neck.

"Why would I set a car on fire in fire in revenge for you killing one of mine?" Dom growled.

"My man was in that car, Toretto. Someone shot him."

"Shame." Dom deadpanned.

"I'm not buying your act."

Dom laughed, "What act? You think I haven't noticed your guys following me? I didn't leave here til 2 am last night, and then I went straight to the garage. And you know it."

Shaw narrowed his eyes.

"So what the fuck do you want, Shaw? I'm busy."

Shaw spun on his heel and stalked off without another word.

Letty grinned against Dom's neck, "He's losing it. Mara's good."

"The best." Dom agreed.

* * *

Mara pounced on Dom almost as soon as he was in the house. She grasped his shoulders and looked him up and down before releasing him to poke at his ribs and chest.

He looked at her in amusement and grabbed her hands, "I'm all in one piece."

Mara huffed out a breath in relief and leaned into his chest, "Did he buy it?"

"I don't think he knows what to think."

* * *

"I don't get how this is any different from our information." Hobbs leaned against a pillar in the warehouse they'd acquired to steer clear of Shaw.

Mara rolled her eyes, "It's different." She assured before letting out a shrill whistle, "Alright! Everyone pay attention."

Mara clicked the remote in her hand and the screens flared to life as everyone settled at the table facing the monitors.

"This is Shaw's crew. We've already taken care of Calvin. With him out of the way, Selena," Mara indicated a picture of a tall Latina woman with wild hair and dark eyes, "moves up to Shaw's second-in-command. I never worked with her. She joined up after I was in the slammer. She used to work for the biggest drug lord in Mexico until he pissed her off. She gutted him and moved to Panama, where she hooked up with Shaw's crew. She's ruthless and she's cruel, but she's not much for strategy. Decent driver, but her real skills lie in design. Any toys Shaw has that go boom, she created." She clicked again and two men, one dark, short, and muscular with tight cornrows, the other average height, dirty blonde hair and hazel eyes, stared out at the room, "Jamal and Devin are Shaw's best drivers. They're in our league. Do not underestimate them. Jamal drives for the sake of driving and money. If it comes down to it, we may be able to reason with him. Devin is a sadistic son of a bitch who is scary loyal to Shaw and has a silver tongue. Don't trust a word he says." She clicked again. A tall blonde woman with eyes so dark they were nearly black greeted them, "This is Kay, she's Shaw's mechanic. She's one insane bitch, but she can make an engine do almost anything. I know her techniques well enough that we'll be able to match their speed and power at the very least, outmatch if I have time to really put some effort into it." Another click, this time revealing a short, slightly heavy-set Mexican with shifty eyes and black hair cropped close. "I don't know this kids real name. Everyone calls him Satchel. He runs Shaw's computers. According to Calvin he is very, very good. I guarantee he has more on us than I have on them. If anyone can figure out that I'm in on the game, it's going to be him."

"We don't have anything on this kid." Hobbs protested.

Mara raised an eyebrow, "Told you it was different."

"Can we take him out of the picture?"

Mara nodded, "Tej, see what you can dig up on this kid."

"You got it." Tej agreed.

Mara clicked again. Sandy brown hair, mud brown eyes, and utterly average features graced the screen, "John is Shaw's chameleon. I only know him by reputation. He can blend in anywhere and thrives on improv. There's just about nowhere he can't get into." She clicked again. Intense gray eyes framed by blonde hair in a hulking frame dominated the screen, "Shaw found Victor somewhere in Europe last year. He's his main muscle. But do not underestimate any of Shaw's crew. They will all be armed, and they will all be able to fight."

* * *

"Woah, woah, woah!" Tej exclaimed, "Oh, hell no!"

Mara watched, almost in amusement as he pushed his chair back and forth between the slew of computers set up in the office above his garage, rapidly typing a string of code into one before turning to the next.

"Problem?" she asked.

"You were right. This Satchel kid is good. Too good." Tej muttered.

Mara shifted her gaze to the window. She squinted at the couple drunkenly staggering around the side of the garage and toward the street, blonde and dark head bent together. She cursed and shoved to her feet when their profiles caught the light of the street lamp.

She stalked to the opposite side of the room and flung the window open before spinning back to grab Tej by the collar and drag him to the window. He struggled to get back to his computers. She yanked him back to the window.

"Woman!" he protested, "I've gotta get this damn kid out of my computers!"

"Selena and Victor just left. We leave now, or we leave in pieces." Mara snapped.

"What?"

Mara pinched the bridge of her nose, "My guess is that they set a bomb in the garage. We gotta go."

"Bomb?" Tej repeated dumbly.

Mara grabbed him and shook him by the shoulders, "Yes, bomb. Now jump!" she commanded.

Tej looked out the window and toward the ground. "That's a dumpster."

"Very observant. Now go!"

Tej shot one last longing look toward his computers before climbing out the window. Mara watched as he landed in the dumpster below and gestured for him to move to the other side before hauling herself out the window and dropping down. She cursed when she landed on something hard, but lost the train of thought when the explosion went off. The dumpster flew to the other side of the alley, crashed hard into the opposite building's wall, and flipped over.

Mara waited for her ears to mostly stop ringing before gingerly reaching toward the side of the bin to force the sliding door open to let the light from the alley filter in. She squinted toward the other side of dumpster. Tej's leg was pinned under one corner and there was a bloody gash along the left side of his forehead. She scooted toward him and let out a relived breath when she felt a pulse.

She shook him, "Tej."

He groaned.

"Come on, Tej. You gotta wake up, man. We gotta move."

He groaned again, but his eyes fluttered open.

"Can you move?"

He rolled his shoulder and wriggled his hips before nodding.

"Alright, I'm gonna try to leverage that corner off your leg. Pull it free as soon as you have enough room."

He nodded again.

Mara crawled into the alley slowly, eyes scanning to make sure they were alone and ears still ringing. She found an old pipe a few feet away and wedged it next to where Tej's foot was sticking out. She pushed down with all her strength and waited for Tej to pull his leg back before dropping it. After a second of thought, she bent to pick it up again. She rounded the dumpster in time to help Tej to his feet.

"Can you put any weight on it?" she nodded toward his leg.

He tried and winced.

Mara handed him the pipe, "Use it as a cane."

She felt for her gun at the back of her pants, grateful she had taken to wearing a holster instead of just shoving it in her waistband. She took a deep breath and immediately regretted it, remembering she'd just crawled out of a dumpster. She looked down at herself in disgust.

"Is that sesame chicken?" she asked, peeling a lump off the bottom of her shirt.

Tej chuckled, before wincing at the pain it sent through his head, "Blame Rome."

"Dually noted." Mara replied grimly. "Let's get out of here."

They hobbled three blocks in alley shadows before sliding out to the street long enough to hail a cab.

"I'll pay you double." Mara held up a wad of cash before the cabbie could turn them away.

* * *

Mara tied off the stitches at the top of her thigh and barely held back a wince. She wiped across the top of the stitches gingerly with an antiseptic wipe before tightly wrapping gauze around the leg. She hadn't even noticed the gash until she and Tej had stumbled into the house and Dom's eyes had nearly bugged out of his head. Tej had made a bad joke about a vein popping and Mara's glare and calm reminder they were being watched was the only thing that held off an explosion as she hobbled up to the shower.

Finally clean, dry, patched up and dressed, Mara met Dom's eyes seriously, "We've been shooting in the dark with one eye closed. If we don't go on the offensive, Shaw is going to destroy us."

Dom tensed, "This is life or death, and you want to go on the offensive."

"Pretty much." Mara confirmed.

Dom sighed, "Only thing to fear is never trying, right?"


	18. Chapter 18

"We're really taking the fight to him?" Brian asked skeptically.

"Just hear me out." Mara reasoned, "He thinks he's taken out two of our crew. As far as he's concerned, Sean and Tej are gone. He's not going to slow down. He's going to keep gunning for us hard and fast."

"Try to keep us off balance." Brian surmised.

"Exactly. If we hit him right the first time, it'll throw him off balance enough for us to have a chance."

"What are you suggesting?" Hobbs asked.

Mara grinned, "We have three distinct advantages. One, he knows the feds are still watching him, but he doesn't know we're working with them. Two, he thinks we're down two men. We throw Sean and Tej front and center at the right time, and he won't know what hit him."

Sean grinned broadly and leaned forward to high five Tej, "Hell yeah!"

"And three?" Hobbs questioned.

Dom grinned wryly, "He still doesn't know we have Mara."

* * *

"Miss Ortiz, I must say I'm surprised to see you here." Shaw said, "And I am not an easy man to surprise."

Letty forced herself to stand still under his scrutiny. She raised an eyebrow, but remained silent.

"Does dear Dominic know you're here?"

"No." Letty answered steadily.

Shaw smirked, "And what could drive you to come to me on your own?"

Letty hesitated, but finally answered in an exhale, "Dom's in over his head and he's too damn stubborn to realize it."

"Two dead and you're already groveling? I expected better."

Letty glared, "There's no acceptable losses when it comes to family."

Shaw laughed, "Family. Always the weakness of Clan Toretto."

"Family isn't a weakness."

"Tell yourself whatever you like, my dear. Tell me, however, what good you think coming to me will do."

"I wanna make a deal."

"Intriguing." Shaw cocked his head slightly to the side. "I'm listening."

"You stop killing my crew."

"And in exchange?"

Letty smirked, "We'll stop killing yours."

To his credit, Shaw hid his surprise at the confession well; he shrugged, "Calvin was hardly a loss. If he got caught, he deserved it."

Letty shook her head and scoffed, "You sound like your brother."

"Regardless, if that's all you have to offer, I'm not interested."

Letty sighed, "I'll help you get Dom out of L.A."

* * *

Tej paced Letty's apartment impatiently while Sean watched in amusement from the couch and Mara stood tensely watching the door.

"Would you two chill?" Sean finally drawled.

Mara spared him a brief glance, "No. Not until Letty's back."

"You really didn't tell Dom you were sending her in there?" Sean asked.

"Or Brian." Mara answered.

They all jumped when the door swung open. Letty slammed it behind her before slumping on the couch. Mara perched on the coffee table in front of her.

"Did he buy it?" she asked anxiously.

Letty yanked a burn phone out of her pocket and handed it over to Mara, "Yeah, he bought it."

Mara weighted the phone in her hand and just stared at it.

"Text only, he said."

Mara nodded, "He uses heavily coded messaging in lieu of phone calls. No chance of voice recognition and no way to break an encryption that only exits in his head."

"He explained."

"Give you any idea of when you'll hear from him?"

Letty shrugged, "Next couple days. Said to be ready whenever."

Mara chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully, "He's pretty fond of early morning or brunch meetings off the bat, especially with racers – it throws a wrench in their normal schedule, keeps them off guard. And at this point he's gonna be playing hard and fast." she hesitated briefly, "He'll want to meet tomorrow morning. You have to race tonight."

Letty arched one brow, "So I'm fucking exhausted tomorrow?"

Mara nodded, "Exactly. He'll know something is up if you don't show tonight."

"So will Dom."

"And there's that." Mara conceded.

"How're you gonna keep track of that?" Letty nodded to the phone.

Mara tossed it to Tej, "Clone this for me?"

Tej nodded, "You got it."

* * *

Mara stared at the three phones in front of her – her own, a clone of Calvin's, and a clone of the burner Shaw had given Letty – and prayed she wasn't complicating things unnecessarily or digging herself an early grave with all the secrets she was keeping.

* * *

"You've changed." Calvin said quietly, if for no other reason to break the silence.

Mara shrugged, but her tone was bitter, "Prison will do that to a person."

Calvin flinched, "I never agreed with Shaw. I never wanted to abandon you."

"And telling him to take care of me before going after Toretto?"

"Believe it or not, I meant for him to beg you back, not kill you." Calvin answered, sounding resigned.

"I believe you."

"I didn't... I could've fought him harder on it… not giving you up in the first place."

Mara shrugged, clearly not sure how to answer.

"He was almost too impressed to be pissed when he realized what you'd done with his assets."

Mara grinned unrepentantly, "He fucked himself over on that count."

"And he knew it."

Silence reigned for a few moments.

"If he would've stuck behind you," Calvin started, "supported you, hell, maybe broken you out of prison…" he trailed off.

Mara nodded, catching his train of thought, "I would've given everything back, squeaky clean and untraceable."

Calvin shook his head in amazement, "As is, you ended up with a nice little nest egg for when you got out."

"Pretty much."

"And you found a crew worth being loyal to."

Mara met his eyes then, "Yeah, I did."

Calvin sighed, resigned, "How many more has he taken out since the kid?"

"One."

Calvin's eyes narrowed, "You hesitated."

Mara raised an eyebrow in challenge.

"You hesitated." Calvin insisted. "You're not telling me something."

Mara scoffed, "Why should I tell you anything?"

Calvin looked pointedly at his wrists, cuffed to the table.

Mara rolled her eyes, "You slipped those twenty minutes ago."

Calvin grinned and shook the cuffs off, casually stretching his arms out behind him.

Mara studied him silently for a few minutes. He could nearly hear the gears turning in her head as he slouched down in his chair and laced his fingers behind his head.

"So, who did he get to?" Calvin asked again.

Mara sighed and gave in, "Tried to take out Tej."

"Tried?"

Mara shrugged, "Like you said, I'm not playing the same game Shaw is. And like I told you, I've been ahead since day one."

Calvin nodded and it was silent again.

Finally she spoke again, quietly, "You were expendable, you know."

Calvin started a bit, "What?"

"Shaw told Letty that you weren't a loss. He said you deserved it."

"I've been with him for a decade." Calvin said, disbelieving, and his shoulders tensed with denial.

Mara met his eyes again, and his stomach sank when he saw nothing but honesty, and maybe a mixture of sympathy and pity, there.

Calvin swallowed thickly before nodding slowly, numbly accepting it. He knew Shaw. In Shaw's mind, anyone who got caught deserved it.

"Hell of a reward for loyal service." he finally muttered brokenly.

Mara actually laughed, "You're preaching to the choir, Cal."

He looked up at her, "So now what?"

"Now I give you a choice. You gave me Shaw's crew in exchange for not going to jail. I don't have anything like that to offer you again."

"What are you offering then?"

"A place to park your car when this is all over."

Calvin knew his face had to show his shock clearly, "You're offering me a place in your crew?"

Mara leaned forward and rested her elbows on the table. "I'm offering you a family."


	19. Chapter 19

"So, what, he's on our side now?" Sean asked as he eyed Calvin skeptically.

"I've always been on _her_ side." Calvin answered with a jerk of his chin toward Mara where she was leaning in the shadows with Dom.

Dom leaned down to speak quietly in her ear, "You trust him?"

Mara shivered involuntarily as his breath ghosted across her cheek and silently cursed Shaw once again. They were _not_ getting enough time alone and it was starting to wear on her. By all appearances, Dom seemed to be holding out fine, but Mara knew him well enough to notice the well-concealed tension in his faux casual stance.

She shook herself and tried, and mostly succeeded, to keep her voice steady when she met his eyes and answered, "I've always trusted him."

Dom raised an eyebrow, "He tried to kill Sean."

"You really think Shaw gave him a choice?"

Dom shrugged.

"He's good. I promise."

Dom straightened and strode forward to stand directly in front of Calvin. Mara stayed back, knowing Calvin would understand the message: Dom was the boss.

"If Shaw is anything like his brothers… he did his research. You know my reputation. You know my crew's reputation." Dom's voice rumbled. Mara suppressed another shiver.

Calvin nodded.

"You understand then, exactly how fucked you will be if you hurt my family?"

Calvin nodded again.

Dom held his hand out, "In that case, this may work."

Mara saw the tension bleed out of Cal's lanky frame as he grinned and shook Dom's hand.

Letty and Mara simultaneously as the Shaw phones vibrated in their pockets. Mara subtly signaled the other woman and they both slipped outside.

Mara yanked her clone out of her pocket and opened the message.

**Shaw: Sacrifice the gold.**

Letty squinted at the screen in confusion for only a moment before it turned to a scowl, "He wants me to throw the race?"

Mara typed out a reply.

**Letty: Go fuck yourself. Don't see how that helps things.**

The phone buzzed less than a minute later.

**Shaw: Reputation.**

Mara groaned, "He knows Dom's crew is the best. He needs to establish his crew as the one to beat if he's gonna take the scene over."

She replied again.

**Letty: Don't waste my time. This better be good.**

"What good is that going to do?" Letty asked as she squinted at the screen.

"It'll make sure he puts Jamal or Devin in. They're the only ones who could believably beat any of Dom's real drivers."

"So it won't look staged."

"Exactly."

"Step out for a smoke, did we?" Calvin's voice came from behind Mara.

She jumped and spun on him, instinctually slamming him into the wall.

"Ouch."

She quirked an eyebrow, "You know better than to sneak up on me."

"I know better than to think I could sneak up on you, so I'm pretty damn impressed with myself." he snarked back.

Mara rolled her eyes and released him.

"That's one of Shaw's." he nodded to the phone clasped in her hand.

She shoved it back in her pocket, "I don't know what you're talking about."

He raised his hands in surrender, "Whatever angle you're working is your business. I'm not going to narc on you." He lowered his hand and met her eyes seriously, "I appreciate you being willing to bring me in to your crew and giving me a shot at Shaw. I do. But you know, I am behind _you_ above whatever else is going on. Your call is the one I answer."

Mara nodded and briefly squeezed his hand with a wan smile.

He leaned against the building and shoved his hands in his pockets as he crossed his ankles. He looked her up and down, "So… your man know how close you are to snapping if you don't get some?"

* * *

"What the fuck happened to your eye?" Brian asked.

"Swear jar!" Mia called out.

Calvin started to raise an eyebrow in question but winced when it pulled at the bruising on his face and voiced it instead, "Swear jar?"

Brian grinned and hefted the toddler on his hip higher, "Not allowed to curse around Jack. My lovely wife decided a swear jar was a necessity in a house full of loaded racers with mouths like sailors and a toddler."

Calvin chuckled, "I'll keep that in mind."

"Eye?"

Calvin's hand unconsciously rose to his face, "Right. Mara." He grinned self-depreciatingly, "You'd think I'd know to keep my mouth shut."

Brian winced sympathetically, "You should've seen my jaw after I told her about Mia and Jack."

"She was mad you had a wife and kid?"

"I was mad he didn't _tell_ me about his wife and kid." Mara corrected as she walked into the kitchen.

"Aun Ara!" Jack exclaimed, wriggling in his father's arms.

Mara laughed and reached over to take him from Brian, who just rolled his eyes.

"You're good with kids?" Calvin asked incredulously.

"No." Mara answered firmly. "Jack's just special." Mara turned her attention to the toddler, "Isn't that right?" she asked, tickling his arms.

He squealed and giggled in response.

"Movie!" he demanded after he caught his breath.

"Movie? What movie?" Mara asked.

"Light!" he answered.

"How about we make Uncle Sean put it on in the basement?"

Jack nodded enthusiastically and scrambled to the ground with Mara on his heels.

"Light?" Calvin asked Brian.

Brian laughed, "Cars. It's his favorite movie."

Mia rolled her eyes, "Go figure, right?"

* * *

Letty chuckled as Jack tore through the living room screaming for Sean with Mara on his heels. She shot an exasperated look at her and Dom on the way through, but it was tinged with fondness.

"What did the new guy say to deserve the black eye?" Dom asked once they were through.

Letty rolled her eyes, "He asked if you knew how much she needed some, er… quality time."

Dom's face went impressively blank.

"He was a bit cruder than that."

Dom nodded slowly.

"He had a point, though."

Dom narrowed his eyes at her, "Did he?"

Letty put her hand out defensively, "Just sayin', man, everyone's uptight right now, and she can't even be out in the action yet. She's hiding out, and yeah… she's about ready to snap. So are you."

Dom sunk back, defeat clear on his features, "Any suggestions? In case you haven't noticed, we're full up around here."

Letty dug her apartment keys out of her pocket and tossed them.

Dom caught them with one hand.

"I haven't slept there in a week anyway, and you know she'll be at the garage tonight anyway."

"There's a race tonight."

"And the rest of us will be there."

Dom released a deep breath, "Might rattle Shaw if he thinks I don't feel like I need to watch him."

"Damn straight."

* * *

Mara tweaked her intake valve one last time before she straightened up to get an overview of her handiwork. There really wasn't anything left she could do to her Skyline. It was just waiting for its race, and she was determined that would be soon, because she was already getting tired of the game with Shaw. She heard footsteps behind her and tensed for a fraction of a second before relaxing.

"Thought you'd be at the race." she called without turning around.

"Brian and Letty have got it covered." Dom answered.

Mara kind of hummed in response.

Dom wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and kissed her neck when she leaned back into him.

"Looks good." Mara felt Dom's chin dip against her shoulder as he nodded toward the engine.

"Finally figured out those last few bugs."

"Good. Then you can take a break."

Mara grinned as she turned in his arms to face him, "You think so?"

His eyes glinted when they met hers, "I know so."

He leaned down to kiss her and she smiled into the kiss as she met him eagerly.

"You planning on taking me right here?" she murmured against his lips.

She felt him smile, "I'm getting to old for that shit. There's perfectly good couch upstairs."

She pulled back enough to quirk an eyebrow at him.

He chuckled as he caught onto her train of thought, "I'm good with Letty. You're good with Letty. Still not going there."

"You don't want to sleep with me on your ex's bed?" she teased.

"Sleep with you? Maybe. Fuck you? Hell no." he shot back before claiming her lips once again.

She would deny the squeal that escaped when he picked her up and carried her toward the stairs until her dying day.

* * *

Letty didn't let Jamal pull ahead of her until the last 10 second stretch. She would grudgingly admit that he was just as good as Mara had said, but she _knew_ she would take him out in a fair race. She knew her sneer and pseudo gracious nod in his direction sent a mixed message, but she couldn't seem to bring herself to care.

Her phone buzzing in her pocket pulled her attention.

**Shaw: 7:30 Malibu Beachfront Café**

It would take her an hour to get to Malibu at that time in the morning. Letty looked at the current time. 2:45. Shit. Mara was right, and Shaw was a sadistic bastard.

**Letty: You are a sadistic fuck.**


	20. Chapter 20

"Captain, I don't like this case."

The captain's eyebrows shot up, "Any particular reason?"

Rona shrugged, feeling a bit helpless, "Would you buy it if I said gut feeling?"

"Kimble, I can't run this precinct on gut feelings."

Rona sighed deeply and bit her lip, glancing toward the door.

The captain took the hint and stood up long enough to close it before he settled back behind his desk. He gestured for Rona to take one of the seats across from his desk.

"Lay it out for me, kid." he said more gently.

Rona worried at her lip again as she glanced at the file in her lap.

"Quit bitin' on your lip. You've done that when you were worried since you were three years old."

Rona smiled sadly, "The way things are now, I can't seem to remember what I had to worry about back then."

The captain shrugged, "Something about your goldfish being thirsty?"

Rona laughed.

"And your mama getting sick." he added softly.

Rona sobered and nodded.

"You don't still blame yourself for what your dad did, do you?"

"No." Rona answered honestly, "Do you?"

The captain shrugged again, "Some days. I was his partner. How could I have not seen it, ya know?"

Rona nodded.

"Now, what's up, kid?"

Rona braced herself and met his eyes, "I want to set up surveillance Mara Spilner."

The captain's eyebrows went back up, "We've got a very specific order from the feds to stay the hell away from her."

"I know. We've also got a very specific order from the feds to make sure there's no trace of her in our records." Rona pointed out ruefully.

"Point?"

"I think there's some connection between her and the new crew that rolled into town…"

"And? Don't deny there's something else. I know that look."

Rona took a deep breath, "And I think we've got a leak. Why else would the feds want us to keep it under wraps that she's here?"

He nodded slowly, "Fair enough… but what good would come from meeting with Spilner?"

Rona shrugged, "Maybe nothing."

"But?"

"But maybe something." she edged.

His eyes narrowed, "You're still holding out. Give me the whole picture, or I'm not letting you do this."

Rona tugged at a loose seam on her pants and huffed in frustration before giving up and tossing him the file she was still holding.

"Sean Boswell," Rona flinched at the crack in her voice, "a known associate of Dominic Toretto, is presumed dead after an explosion in an illegal street race early last month."

"What's with the crack?"

Rona glared at him before she forced herself to relax and shrug, "He was a good kid."

"Alright." he let it slide, "Presumed?"

"Body was blasted and burnt to hell. Couldn't make head or tails of what was left of the mouth for dental records, so we've been waiting for a DNA confirmation for over a month. Lab is backed up."

The captain nodded and waved her on.

"Shortly after, one of this new crew's guys' car blows up parked at a beach. Can't ID the body, but the car definitely belonged to someone high up in the new crew."

"Revenge?" he asked curiously.

"That's the theory at least."

"Alright."

"Then a shop belonging to one Tej Parker –"

"Another of Toretto's."

Rona nodded, "His shop was blown up. Neighbors confirmed he was in the shop."

"Body?"

She shook her head, "Forensic guys said if he was standing close enough to the bomb, though, there wouldn't be one to find."

The captain grimaced.

"And I can't even figure out what federal agency is here."

"DSS." he answered absently as he scanned the file in front of him.

Rona's brows drew together in thought.

Finally, the captain looked up, "Fine, kid. I'll admit you're on to something here. Spilner and Toretto definitely have something to do with this new crew. And I don't think it's anything friendly. I'll approve surveillance, but you have to do it yourself."

Rona smiled at him brilliantly.

"Don't fuck it up!" he called after her as she snatched her file back and darted out of his office.

* * *

"Any chance you know how your parole officer takes her coffee?" Brian asked, standing in the kitchen at the shop.

"Dark and sweet." Mara answered absently, focused on fiddling with some tweak she wanted to add to their NOS systems.

She didn't even notice him make a cup of coffee before sauntering casually out of the garage. He cut down the block, across the street and back up the block. He opened the door of the dark sedan and slid in quickly.

Rona jumped high enough to bang her head on the roof, even as her hand clasped around her gun.

Brian grinned roguishly and held out the Styrofoam cup, "Thought you might want some coffee. If surveillance is even half as boring as I remember it being, you'll need it."

Rona stared at him incredulously.

Brian shrugged and put the offered coffee into the center console before taking a sip of his own.

"What the fuck?" Rona finally managed.

Brian quirked an eyebrow, but answered seriously, "I was a cop for a long time. Did you really think one of us wouldn't notice you?"

"Half a block away in this piece of shit? I seriously hoped not." Rona scoffed.

Brian grinned wryly, "No such luck, kid."

"How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Act so calm when your crew, your family, is dropping like flies?"

Brian's blue eyes hardened to ice, "That's what this is about?"

Rona nodded cautiously.

"Stay out of it."

She narrowed her eyes at him in response.

He sighed frustratedly, "This is over your head, and it's being handled."

"What has DSS got that LAPD doesn't?" Rona snapped.

Brian's eyes widened briefly before he chuckled and shrugged, "And agent we trust, an offer we need…" he hesitated and regarded her carefully before deciding the next part was necessary to add, "And the ability to move cops too nosy for their own good out of harm's way."

"You wouldn't dare." Rona fumed.

"Get out of here. And keep your head down." Brian answered as he slipped out of the car, "Enjoy your coffee."

* * *

Rona jumped again when her cell phone rang. She frowned at the blocked number, but answered it anyway.

"He's right you know." a southern drawl rumbled across the line, "This isn't your game, and we've got it handled. Go home, and stay the fuck out of my way."

"And if I don't?" Rona asked shakily.

She could hear the grin in the response, "I'll make sure your captain chains your ass to a desk. One month for every time I catch you sniffing at my case."

The line clicked dead and Rona stared at her phone. She turned the ignition and stomped the gas a little harder than necessary as she drove out of the neighborhood. She wasn't one to back down, but she definitely needed a new tactic.

* * *

"Where the hell have you been?" Mara asked when Brian walked into the kitchen.

He quirked an eyebrow at her, "I was just in here ten minutes ago. We even had a conversation."

"Quick yanking my dick." Mara grumbled.

"Real ladylike, Mar."

Mara stuck her tongue out at him.

He rolled his eyes, "But seriously. I asked what kind of coffee your parole officer liked."

Mara scrunched her nose up, "Why?"

"Because she was sitting half a block away in a crappy sedan and looked exhausted and bored."

"Surveillance, really?"

Brian shrugged, "Hobbs and I sent her scampering off. For now at least."

Mara closed her eyes briefly, "Girl's gonna get herself killed."

"Not if we can help it."

Silence reigned for moment before Brian switched the topic, "So you gonna tell me why Letty was out of the house at the ass crack of dawn this morning?"

* * *

Letty peered over her shades at the café she cruised past it. The word swanky came to mind. She parked a block and half away and let a chuckle escape at the distaste on the host's face when he eyed her jeans and leather jacket.

"You're late." Shaw informed her as she sat down.

Letty shrugged, "Five minutes. And you're lucky I showed at all. I think I got two hours of sleep last night."

"Is that supposed to be my problem?"

"It's your fault." Letty groused before gruffly demanding a coffee from the waitress and sneering at the look of distaste (disturbingly similar to the host's look) as Letty shrugged out of her jacket to reveal a casual tank top.

Shaw studied her silently until the coffee arrived.

When the waitress was out of earshot, Shaw spoke, "Tell me about the woman Calvin left with."

"Thought you didn't care about Calvin."

"On the contrary, his loss was… disappointing."

Letty shrugged, "Whatever. I don't know anything about the girl. Race bunny."

"She's not going lure the rest of my crew to premature graves?"

Letty smirked, "Not as far as I know. Could be entertaining as hell to watch, though."

If she didn't know better, Letty would swear Shaw was trying not to roll his eyes.

A moment later he spoke again, "You've proven you can be worked with." he admitted grudgingly. "Now it's time to prove you can be useful."

"What'd you have in mind?"


	21. Chapter 21

Mara paced back and forth across the warehouse, cursing under her breath and thinking as hard as she could.

"What's wrong?" Calvin asked as he wandered in.

"I missed something." Mara snapped.

Calvin widened his eyes at her in a way that would have been comical under any other circumstances.

She stopped and squared off at him, "Since when does Shaw kidnap people?"

The color drained from Calvin's face.

"He doesn't. I mean, he does. But… who did he take?"

"No one yet, he's making Letty help him get Twinkie, though."

"Shit."

"I haven't even started pushing him yet. There's no way he should feel this desperate."

"It's not desperation, Mara. It's leverage."

"I have to change the entire game plan now. I show my face, and he'll kill Twinkie on principle."

"That's assuming you let him get his hands on him. You said he's making Letty help." Calvin reasoned, "That means she'll know where he is, right?"

Mara shot a scathing look at him.

"Right. No way in hell Shaw keeps him somewhere she knows."

Mara dropped into a chair and buried her face in her hands. Her words came out muffled, "I didn't see this one coming. He got a step ahead."

Calvin knelt in front of her and pulled her hands away from her face so she had to meet his eyes, "Then take two or three more."

* * *

**Letty:** **Gonna have to wait til the next meet. Less obvious.**

"You sure he's gonna go for this?" Letty asked.

Mara nodded, "Shaw is logical. He'll know it's too obvious to take Twinkie from the house or in broad daylight."

**Shaw: Very well. No further delays.**

Letty shook her head in disbelief, "Well, we bought ourselves a week."

* * *

Mara gripped the wheel of her Skyline tightly and squinted through her tinted windows as she pulled up to the night's scene. There seemed to be two distinct crowds, and a line drawn down the middle. Toretto versus Shaw. It took everything in her to drive straight ahead instead of veering off to Dom's side.

She knew the moment Shaw spotted her. His eyes narrowed suspiciously as he took in the swirling blue decals on their sparkling white background. She smirked triumphantly when he waved Hector over.

She pulled her car up to the starting line, but made no move to get out. Five minutes later, Hector rapped on her window. He did a double take when she rolled her window down, but to his credit, he rolled with it admirably.

"That you, Snow Queen?" he asked, taking in her dark wig and heavy makeup.

"It's me." she deadpanned. "Don't ask."

He shrugged, "Fair enough. You racing?"

She reached into the center console for a wad of cash and waved it teasingly in front of his face, "Anyone worth racing?"

He smirked, "A couple of the new guys ain't bad. One of 'em, David or somethin' like that, is in the next set."

"Devin." Mara corrected.

Hector's eyebrows went up, "You know this crew?"

Mara held a finger to her lips in the universal signal for quiet.

"They're hardasses, mama."

"And they don't know who I am. Keep it that way." Mara handed him twice the entry fee.

Hector smiled, "I feel you. Smoke 'em, beautiful."


	22. Chapter 22

"That was reckless." Dom growled as he leaned into her window, her tires still smoking around them.

Mara shrugged, "Shaw would've recognized my driving."

"Show me how you drive, and I'll show you who you are." Dom muttered, almost under his breath.

Mara grinned and waved the wad of cash Hector had just handed her in his face, "Besides, I won anyway."

Dom shook his head as he leaned forward to kiss her briefly. She allowed herself to lean into it for a moment before she pulled back and took a deep breath. Her eyes focused over his shoulder.

"Letty's on her way over to make our scene." she told him. "And Shaw's heading this way. I'm out."

He nodded and pulled back far enough for her to peel away from the scene with screaming tires.

* * *

"What the fuck, Toretto?!" Letty snarled as she shoved his shoulder roughly.

"Awh, come on, babe. It was just a kiss." Dom placated.

"Just a kiss?!" Letty fumed, "Do you buy your own bullshit? If it was some race bunny instead of the skank you tried to leave me for, I _might_ buy it. As is, you're shit out of luck."

Brian stepped deftly in between the two, "Let's take it easy Letty."

Letty got right in his face, "Stay out of it, Buster!" She proceeded to shove past him and jam a finger in Dom's chest, "You gonna try and talk yourself out of this one?"

Dom answered nonchalantly, "It was a good race. I was just saying congratulations."

"Trouble in paradise?" Shaw's voice drawled.

Letty and Dom both snapped their glares toward him. Neither spoke.

Shaw shrugged dismissively, "None of my business, really. I was simply hoping you might be able to tell me where I might reach this 'Snow Queen'."

"Sorry, Dom's only got the number for her booty call line." Letty spat sarcastically before she spun on her heel and stalked determinedly toward her car with the crowd splitting like the Red Sea in the face of her apparent fury.

Shaw returned his amused game toward Dom, "I'm not particularly picky as to how I get in touch with her, so long as I do."

Dom's glare mixed with incredulity, "Why the fuck would I help you with anything, Shaw?" He didn't wait for an answer before he slid into the Charger and peeled off, not far behind Letty.

* * *

"Does anyone know how to get ahold of the bloody woman?" Shaw demanded.

Hector shrugged, "Used to be pretty tight with Dom's crew, but I ain't seen her around in a couple months. She ain't got loyalties to anyone around here."

"So you're telling me no one knows how to find her."

"Unless she shows up at a race, she's pretty much a ghost."

"Surely she interacts with other racers?" Shaw asked, patience waning thin.

Hector smirked, "Not really. Hated by a few more than others, but she's a loner. You saw her, man – didn't even get outta her car."

* * *

"Got something for you." Hobbs shoved an envelope in Mara's hands almost before she was out of her car when she pulled into the warehouse.

She opened it curiously and gaped at the surveillance photos and paperwork in her hands, "Fuck! I knew I was missing something!"


	23. Chapter 23

Letty could barely contain herself until they made it back, but she made it into the living room before collapsing onto the couch in laughter.

Dom rolled his eyes at her, "Glad you think it's so funny."

"You gotta admit it is." Letty said as she gasped for air. "Have I always been so dramatic?"

Dom smirked, "Yeah, but back then I deserved it."

Letty sobered, "You're not like that with her."

Dom shrugged a little, not quite sure how to answer that, because it was the truth. He'd barely even noticed another woman since Mara had come along.

Letty smiled a little sadly, "It makes sense, though."

"Does it?"

"Yeah. Like I told you before, you and me… all passion. Guess we both did whatever it took to feed that."

"Guess so... I was an ass, though. You never deserved more than half the shit I pulled."

Letty smirked half-heartedly, "That you tryin' to say sorry?"

Dom nodded, "Yeah."

She gave him a small, but genuine, smile, "Apology accepted."

They lapsed into a comfortable silence.

Brian came in a few minutes later, "We need to get to the warehouse. Hobbs found something."

* * *

With everyone situated around a high table in the warehouse, Mara held her hand up to ward off any questions.

"You all just need to shut the hell up and listen right now. Things are about to start moving fast." she told the crew.

Dom raised an eyebrow.

"If we're lucky, we have a week."

"If we're lucky?" Rome sputtered, "Luck don't usually play into our favor, girl."

"We can buy the week for sure." Mara said quietly.

"How?" Brian asked sharply, catching onto her tone.

Mara bit her lip and exchanged a look with Letty and Calvin. After a few moments of tense silent conversation between them, Mara nodded tightly.

Letty pulled out her phone from Shaw and slid it to the middle of the table, "We give Shaw what he wants."

"What the fuck is that?" Hobbs demanded.

"Letty's been on the inside with Shaw for a couple weeks." Mara answered.

Brian's eyes and tone turned cold, "We've been down this road before."

"We know what we're doing." Letty said.

"What _does_ Shaw want?" Elena asked.

Mara almost jumped. The woman was usually so quiet that Mara tended to almost forget she was there. She took a deep breath and hedged when she answered, "Leverage."

"What kind of leverage?" Brian asked.

Silence rang as the crew looked at Mara, Letty, and Calvin alternately as they waited for an answer.

"What does Shaw want?" Dom asked this time, almost quietly.

Mara forced herself to meet his eyes unflinchingly, "Twinkie."

Twinkie looked shocked, but recovered quickly, "Like, dead? So we fake it like we did with Sean and Tej. No big."

Mara did flinch then.

"Not exactly, kid." Letty told him.

Twinkie looked at her in confusion.

"He wants you alive." Calvin interjected.

"Huh?" Twinkie asked dumbly.

"I'm supposed to help him kidnap you by the time the races break up tonight." Letty answered steadily.

"Well shit." Sean drawled after few seconds of stunned silence.

An outburst of overlapping angry voices followed.

Mara waited it out patiently.

When it finally died down, Twinkie looked at Calvin, "What'll he do with me?"

Calvin shrugged, "Can't say exactly, but he won't hurt you. You're most useful to him alive."

"Torture?" Twinkie asked, and his voice only broke a little.

"Nah. Not really his style." Calvin reassured.

Twinkie turned to Mara, "This'll buy us the week?"

Mara nodded.

"And you can end this by then?"

Mara hesitated only a fraction of a second before nodding again.

Twinkie took a deep breath, "Ain't a question, then. I'll do it."

"Twinkie, no, man! There's gotta be another way." Sean objected.

"Shaw'll be on to us if I don't pull this off." Letty stated baldly.

"She's right." Calvin agreed.

Twinkie turned to Mara again and looked her straight in the eyes, "You gonna get me out of this?"

"I promise." Mara answered solemnly, meeting his eyes.

"That done then?" Hobbs interrupted the silence that followed.

All eyes snapped toward the fed.

"Ain't what we were here to talk about." he reminded.

"Right." Mara shook her head. "I knew I was missing something. Hobbs figured it out." She tossed the contents of the folder he'd handed her earlier onto the table.

Everyone angled to get a better look at the pictures and pages before them.

Comprehension dawned on Dom's face first, "That night he said L.A. wouldn't be my city much longer…"

Mara nodded, "He _did_ know what was coming. He helped set it up."

"Maybe I'm bein' slow… but I ain't followin'." Rome griped.

Tej picked up one of the pictures and two of the pages in front of them, "Look here man, Julius and Jamal, one of Shaw's drivers, are cousins."

"Awh, fuck." Rome groaned.

* * *

"So, how we gonna do this?" Twinkie asked as he shifted nervously.

Letty grimaced apologetically, "Sorry about this, kid."

"'Bout wha–"

Letty swung a right hook hard toward his temple, and he collapsed before he could finish the question.

* * *

Shaw raised an eyebrow imperiously as he eyed Twinkie sprawled in the passenger seat of Letty's car, his head lolled to the side and a bruise blooming across the side of his face, "Subtle."

"Worked, didn't it?" Letty growled.

Shaw lifted on shoulder in a noncommittal half shrug and called out, "Victor!"

"You're not going to hurt him, right?" Letty asked nervously.

"I've no intention of bringing any harm to him." Shaw assured as Victor walked into the bay, "Make our guest comfortable, won't you?" Shaw nodded toward Twinkie.

Victor nodded and hefted Twinkie over his shoulder without so much as grunt and walked back toward the interior of the building.

Letty watched until they disappeared before she turned back to Shaw, "I'll kill you myself if that kid gets hurt."

"Dually noted." Shaw nodded.

"I've gotta get back."

Shaw smirked, "Certainly. Don't want to alarm your family with two absences, now do we?"

* * *

"We've gotta even the odds." Brian said as he tossed files aside in frustration.

Mara quirked an eyebrow.

Brian started ticking names off with his fingers, "Shaw, Selena, Jamal, Devin, Kay, Satchel, John, and Victor. That's a crew of eight. Nine if you want to count Julius."

Mara nodded.

Brian went on, "Dom, me, you, Rome, Letty, Sean, Tej, and Calvin. That's eight."

Mara smirked, "Thanks, Bri. I forgot how to count."

He flipped her off.

"Even though the numbers are even, our crews aren't. He's got everything and he's got it structured. Shaw's the leader. Selena is his second. Jamal and Devin are his drivers. Kay is his mechanic. Satchel is his hacker. John is his chameleon, and Victor is his muscle. If we're counting Julius, he's his local inside guy."

She raised her brows at him.

"Dom's our leader, but at heart he's a driver. In this case, you're calling the shots. Me, Rome, Letty, Sean, and Calvin, we're all drivers and mechanics. Tej is our hacker. Any of this sound balanced to you?"

Mar smirked, "Nope."

"Why do you look happy about that?"

"Because it's balanced in our favor."

Brian returned her earlier expression of raised brows, though his was far more skeptical.

"Think like a cop again here, Bri."

When he didn't answer, she rolled her eyes and went on, "Element of surprise. As far as Shaw's concerned, Clan Toretto is down to _three_. Four if he decides to count Mia." She started ticking off her own fingers, "From Shaw's perspective: Letty's flipped, Sean is dead, Tej is dead. He's got Twinkie. He doesn't know I'm here. He doesn't know we have Hobbs and Elena. He thinks Cal is dead; he wouldn't even consider we faked it and flipped him. What does that put our count at?"

Brian muttered an incomprehensible answer.

"And if we have a week, how many could we add?"

Brian shrugged, "Tego and Rico. Suki, maybe. Letty's pretty sure she knows where Leon is. Sean said something about some friends from Japan."

"And what else?"

"What do you mean what else?"

"Think like a cop, Bri."

A few seconds later he grinned indulgently, "Home field advantage?"

She grinned back, "Bingo."


	24. Chapter 24

"How's this home field advantage shit gonna work as long as Shaw has Julius?" Letty challenged.

Sean shrugged, "He's only in it 'cause Jamal is his cousin, right?"

No one answered.

Sean looked at Mara, "You said we could probably buy Jamal off, right? We get him out, Julius isn't a problem anymore."

Dom shook his head, "Good theory, kid, but Julius hates me."

Mara nodded her agreement, "And me. Taking Jamal out of the equation will even the odds somewhat, but it won't necessarily take Julius out of the picture."

"So we take 'em both out." Letty said.

Again, no one responded.

"It's our turn in the stupid game, anyway, right?"

Calvin spoke up, "It'd throw him off. He doesn't know you know Julius is working for him."

Mara nodded slowly, "Letty and Cal are both right."

"You got an idea?" Rome asked.

"You even gotta ask with that grin on her face?" Brian laughed.

Mara _was_ grinning, "Yeah. I've got an idea."

* * *

"This almost feels like old times." Brian chuckled from the passenger seat.

Dom smirked, "Hopefully this is the last bit of nostalgia we deal with."

"Agreed."

"You sure he's gonna show?"

Brian nodded, "Mike says he comes in every Tuesday afternoon."

"He should hurry it up. It's hot as hell out here."

Brian rolled his eyes, "Don't be a baby. It's L.A."

Dom cut his retort off when Julius' Monte Carlo pulled into the shop across from them, "That's our cue."

Brian grinned broadly. "Is it bad that I'm gonna enjoy this?"

* * *

"You sure you wanna risk this?" Cal asked.

Mara hummed noncommittally, "He doesn't go for it, I shoot him and we toss him in the ocean."

Cal shook his head, "You may be a frigid bitch, but you've never been that cold."

"I'm kidding, jackass. Mostly. I'd shoot him in the foot or something. Give him a chance to swim away from the sharks."

Cal gave her a hard look.

"Okay, fine. I'll shoot him in the knee and hand him over to Hobbs." she conceded.

"You're real set on shooting him."

Mara shrugged, "Wouldn't be the first time. He's always been a cocky bastard."

Cal chuckled, "He's still bitter about the months he couldn't drive after you shot him in the shoulder."

"He shouldn't have insulted my car."

"That car was a piece of shit."

"It was the one the Bureau gave me. I didn't pick it."

Cal looked incredulous, "But you shot him over it."

Mara laughed, "Like I said, cocky bastard."

"He's here." Cal jerked his chin toward the taco truck across the street. "You sure about this? No turning back if we do this."

In answer, Mara yanked her ball cap tighter over her head, flipped the safety off on her gun, and stepped out of the car. Cal shoved his sunglasses back on and followed her.

Mara kept her head ducked as she came to stop next to their target. Cal leaned on the truck, blocking the menu in his line of sight. To his credit, Mara noted he barely flinched.

"You ain't dead."

Calvin laughed, "You don't say?"

"Yes, thank you, Captain Obvious." Mara added, pointedly placing the barrel of her gun against his ribs as she raised her head.

He did flinch when his head whipped toward her, "Mara?!"

Mara grinned and inclined her head, "Jamal. Ah. Keep the hands where I can see them."

"What do you want?"

"Just to take a ride. Give Cal your keys."

Cal followed them back to the Civic they were driving and kept his gun trained on Jamal as Mara slid into the passenger seat.

Mara held her free hand out. "Phone. Move slowly."

Jamal complied easily and Mara cloned it quickly before tossing it out the window to Cal.

"Drive." Mara demanded as Cal took off toward Jamal's car.

"What kinda game are you at? Get outta prison and want payback or something? I know you're crazy, but I didn't think even you were crazy enough to try to turn _Shaw's_ crew."

Mara scoffed, "I could care less about Shaw, but he's the one who showed up in my city."

"We didn't know where you disappeared to when you got out. Ain't you we're here for."

"I know. Turn here."

"What are you after then."

Mara shrugged, "Evening the playing field. Got an offer for you."

"I'm listening."

"You develop any kind of loyalty to Shaw in the last few years that Cal just forgot to mention?"

He shot her a sidelong glance.

"Turn left. Take that as a no. So, you're still in it for the money?"

A short nod.

"I'll make it worth your while to vanish for the next week."

"That'd put Shaw in a pretty tight spot."

"That's the point."

"You remember how well he pays."

"I can afford it."

He hesitated, "It ain't that simple this time."

"Turn right and pull into the first day parking lot. I know it's not."

"I don't think you do."

"My people picked Julius up this morning."

The car jerked to a stop in the lot and he jerked around to glare at her.

"He's alive."

Mara's phone went off and she flipped it around to show Jamal a picture of Julius, sporting a split lip and a blossoming black eye, sitting in front of a news channel with a time tag from five minutes earlier.

"You think I like that ass enough for you to use him as leverage?"

Mara shook her head, "No. I doubt Julius' mama even likes him that much. But I know even you wouldn't abandon your family to Shaw, no matter how much of an ass they are. Now that's a nonissue."

"So, I just have to vanish for a week?"

"Yep. This'll be over one way or another by then."

"And you think you can make it worth my while?"

"$200,000 if I don't see your face for a week. $50,000 up front. Cash, untraceable."

His eyes widened, "Damn. You ain't pullin' any punches."

"No I'm not. We have a deal?"

"How do you know I ain't gonna go straight back to Shaw?"

Mara batted her eyes innocently, "Oh, did I forget to mention? I'm handing you over to some friends for safekeeping for the week. And you only get the money if you don't put up a fuss."

His eyes narrowed at her, "What friends?"

Mara shrugged, "Racers in Miami. Unless you'd prefer DSS; I can arrange that too."

"DSS… What ain't you tellin' me, girl?"

Mara smiled, "You'll have lots of time to figure it out in Miami. Or do I get to shoot you again?"

Jamal glared at her, but his gaze remained calculating. Then comprehension dawned, "Awh, shit. DSS. Hobbs. You're working with that brick shithouse?"

Mara just quirked an eyebrow.

"And if you're workin' with Hobbs, that means you're probably workin' with Tor… shit."

"Yes?" Mara prompted in a sickly sweet tone.

"You're the Snow Queen. And you're with Toretto's crew. No wonder Shaw hasn't been able to figure out where the hell Toretto is getting his moves… Miami, you said?"


	25. Chapter 25

"How's it going Mike?" Brian called casually as he and Dom walked into the shop.

In his peripheral, Brian saw Julius tense, but Mike just looked up and grinned, "Still waiting for my best employee to come back."

Brian rolled his eyes, "Better things to do these days, man."

Mike waved a hand dismissively, "Like what?"

"Today, taking away some business. Promise I'll make up for it, though."

"You'd better." Mike grumbled.

Brian turned in time to watch Julius try to beeline it for the door, only to run straight into Dom's fist.

* * *

Julius came to slowly. He could hear someone shuffling around in front of him and a TV on behind him. He was propped up in a hard chair with his arms tied behind him and his legs tied to the base of it. Last thing he remembered was going to Mike's and then… O'Conner. O'Conner had shown up. He opened his eyes and winced when he realized his left eye was almost swollen shut.

"Morning sleeping beauty." he heard a sarcastic voice.

His gaze tracked the voice to one of Toretto's guys. "You're s'posed to be dead." He slurred.

Tej shrugged, "Never been to great at doing what I was supposed to." He held up a cell phone, "Smile for the camera. Gotta make sure your cousin doesn't think we killed your stupid ass."

"Your guy went for it?" Suki asked.

Tej nodded toward Jamal.

Suki eyed him speculatively, "You gonna cause me any trouble?"

"You got my money?" Jamal fired back.

"Sent it ahead with one of my boys."

Jamal lifted his eyebrows and shot Mara a look.

Mara shrugged, "Didn't want you to get any ideas about an early payday. You know I'm good for it."

Jamal hesitated briefly then nodded, "Fine. Let's go."

"Thanks, Suk!" Tej called after their retreating backs.

"You owe me!" she called back.

* * *

"What's that put our numbers at?" Hobbs questioned.

Mara closed her eyes as she tallied, "Shaw still has Selena, Devin, Kay, Satchel, John, and Victor."

"So he's down."

Mara nodded, eyes still closed, "We've got Dom, Bri, Rome, Letty, Tej, Sean, Cal, and me. And you and Elena besides."

"Sounds like a good time to strike."

Mara opened her eyes and smirked.

"What?"

"'Strike', always the military man."

"Something wrong with that?"

Mara's smirk became a fond grin, "No."

He looked at her expectantly.

"You're right. Now's probably our best shot. Before he has time to rally."

"And Twinkie?"

"Letty's working on figuring out where they're keeping him."

"Local LEO's?"

"That's your department."

"This is your turf, Spilner. Even if no one else knows it, you're running this show."

Mara bit her lip and and paused. "Rona Kimble. She's just a beat cop, but she's the only one I know we can trust. Just shoot straight with her."


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N:** To answer a question from a comment on a previous chapter (and sorry it's taken me so long to add this little note); yes, Spilner is Mara's real name, and no, she's not actually blood-relation to Brian. :)

* * *

"Miss Kimble."

Rona jumped at the deep drawl behind her. As she spun toward it with a hand on her gun, she registered that it was vaguely familiar. Her grip tightened on her gun at the sight of the massive man in cargo pants and tight tee-shirt with an equally massive gun on his hip. She narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously.

He smirked amusedly in response, "I hear you've been sticking your nose in my business."

The voice clicked – from the phone call after O'Conner caught her – and her grip loosened slightly on her gun, "DSS."

His smirk grew, "Luke Hobbs."

She nodded, "Rona Kimble."

He raised an eyebrow at her hand still on her gun. She left it there anyway.

"What do you want?"

"Things are about to start going down. We need local LEO's. Spilner trusts you."

Rona shook her head, "I'm just a beat cop."

"A beat cop with her captain's ear. You trust him?"

"With my life."

"You trust anyone else?"

"There's a mole in our precinct." Rona hedged.

"You help me out and that won't be a problem."

"What do you want?" Rona repeated.

"I need certain streets clear this weekend. Don't want any civilian casualties. And I need extra hand to make a few arrests."

Rona nodded slowly, "Why not call in your own backup?"

"Ain't taking the chance that the bastard would notice them coming in. I am beyond done with this whole damn family."

Rona's eyes narrowed again, "Who exactly are you going after, anyway?"

"Ever heard the name Alexander Shaw?"

Rona's blood ran cold. She knew the name. "Any cop worth his salt, especially one askin' for _my_ help, would know that I do."

Hobbs nodded, "Your dad worked for his."

"Ruined his life and got him killed for the trouble."

"And here's your chance to return the favor."

"William Shaw's been in the ground a long time."

"And Alexander Shaw'll probably join him, and his older two sons, before the week is up. But it'd be a sight easier if you were of a mind to help us out."

"Us?"

"Spilner's running this show. I'm just along for the ride."

"What do you need?"

* * *

"Letty, how close are you to finding Twinkie?" Mara asked.

Letty shrugged, "I know he's still in the warehouse where I dropped him off, but the place is fucking huge. I've got no idea where he is in there."

"We've got to find him before Shaw can call in back up."

"I know. I'm fucking working on it, alright?" Letty snapped.

"Sorry. I know you are."

Letty sighed, "What's our next play anyway?"

"I'm sending Sean and Tej in first thing Friday night."

"That's a big race."

Mara smirked, "It'll cause a big scene."

Letty nodded. "And you?"

"Same night. Maybe give an hour between them showing up and me showing up."

"Shaw is gonna lose his shit."

"That's the idea."

"What are we using the local LEO's for?"

Mara laughed, "You're just gonna have to wait and see."

Letty flipped her off on her way out the door.

"You sure about this?" Cal's raspy voice dragged Mara out of her thoughts and back to reality.

"Hell no." she told him honestly.

"If it goes bad?"

"I carry a .45 for a reason."

"You'll go back to prison."

"Wanna bet?"

"Not really."


	27. Chapter 27

Shaw tightened his grip on Letty's collar and pressed the gun in his hand to her temple; beside him, Victor had a tight grip on Twinkie with a knife to his throat.

Shaw kept his eyes on Dom, "It has taken you a frustratingly long time to grasp the concept, Mr. Toretto, that I am not to be played with. It can get dangerous."

* * *

_Earlier that day_

Mara stood staring at her Skyline, praying she'd made all the right modifications. She relaxed minutely when Dom's arms wrapped around her waist from behind.

"We've got one shot at this." his voice rumbled next to her ear.

Mara nodded and leaned her head back against his shoulder, closing her eyes, "Everything rides on tonight."

Mara ripped the duct tape of Julius' mouth none too gently as she sat in front of him and leaned forward, casually tapping her gun against his knee.

"Alright, Julius. Last chance before I lose my temper. Where's Shaw keeping Twinkie?"

"Fuck you." Julius snarled at her.

Mara grimaced dramatically as she pulled the flipped the safety off, "No thanks. You're _really_ not my type."

Julius glared.

"Look, man. I don't like you. You don't like me. I kept you alive to make sure Jamal would leave without a fuss. Jamal is gone. Please don't test my patience."

"You ain't got the balls, bitch."

Mara rolled her eyes and leaned back enough to aim at his foot and pull the trigger.

Julius screamed profanities at her until he was breathless.

"You done?" she asked.

He glared again, eyes watering.

"If you're lucky, that won't hurt like a bitch when you're driving after it heals. Now, you can tell me where the kid is, or I'll blast your kneecap and make sure you can't drive at all in the future."

* * *

"Hobbs." the DSS answered his phone shortly.

The voice on the other end replied nervously, "It's done. Set up just like you asked."

"Good work, Kimble. See you tonight."

* * *

"How come I don't get a dramatic reveal?" Tej complained.

Mara smirked, "You do. Just not as public."

He waved a hand dismissively.

* * *

Devin's Mustang idled comfortably at the starting line as he leaned against his hood waiting for the last racer in this set to show. The RX-7 driver on the end was more focused on the race bunnies than anything. The driver of the blacked out Eclipse hadn't gotten out of his car. Devin shook his head at the dramatics that seemed to overrun L.A.

Hector dropped his phone back into his pocket and jerked his chin toward the Evo approaching the line, "That's him now."

Devin tensed. That car…

Sean stepped out and the crowd fell into a shocked silence. He tossed a roll of bills and Hector caught it easily.

"Think this is the quietest I've ever seen the scene." Sean drawled, smirking.

Devin vaguely registered a door opening behind him before hearing a familiar voice rasp, "That's 'cause dead men ain't supposed to walk and talk, kid."

Devin spun to face Calvin.

"Ain't that the pot callin' the kettle black?" Sean quipped back.

Devin finally regained his senses enough to sneer at Calvin, "You… you've been with Toretto since the beginning."

Cal smirked, "Nah. They saved the kid on their own. And they faked my death. Then they made some very convincing arguments as to why I should flip."

"Shaw'll kill you."

"He can try."

Silence still rang throughout the surrounding crowd.

Hector broke it, "This is a first for L.A., amigos! We've got two ghosts racing! Place your bets!"

The crowd snapped out of their shock and money flew as shouts rose.

* * *

The RX-7 fell behind almost immediately. Cal took a turn off the race route, and Sean drifted out of sight around a curve right and shot a wink at Rona as he passed her squad car. Mere seconds later, he saw the flash of red and blue lights in his rearview as Devin found himself boxed in by local LEO's.

* * *

"Twinkie." Letty whispered harshly as she shook him.

He opened his eye blearily.

"Come on, kid. We gotta get outta here."

He shook himself awake and grumbled, "Took you long enough."

Letty cuffed him upside the back of the head. "Let's go."

They opened the door only to come face to face with Victor.

* * *

"You sure this is gonna top Kay's mods?" Mara asked skeptically, examining the work under her hood yet again.

"As long as she didn't make any absolutely crazy upgrades in the last week." Cal reassured.

"You sure you can handle John?"

"You want to?"

"Hell no. Guy's reputation precedes him."

"And I can handle him." Cal smirked. "Besides, I know John. And you get to deal with Shaw."

* * *

Cal doubled back to the start and pulled his car in quietly out of the way before making his way through the crowd.

He clapped his hand on his target's shoulder, "Johnny boy!"

John spun to face him with a glare. He reached for his gun, and Cal punched him in the face. The crowd around them seemed unfazed as Cal dragged the shorter, and now unconscious, man back to his car.

* * *

**Satchel: Lost control of computers. Tej is still kicking. I'm bailing.**

Shaw practically roared with fury as he threw his phone against the far wall, "Bring me the kid!"


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N: **Obviously, I'm a terrible person for leaving you hanging for so long. Sorry. Apparently I have a life now? Well, not really, but I work so much it almost feels like it sometimes.

Also, apologies for Rome's excessive use of "brah" in this chapter, can you tell I rewatched 2F2F recently? ;)

* * *

"It has taken you a frustratingly long time to grasp the concept, Mr. Toretto, that I am not to be played with. It can get dangerous."

Dom shrugged, "I can be a little slow on the uptake, I guess."

Shaw tightened his grip on Letty's collar even further. "I'm sure your girlfriend would agree with that."

A shot rang out from the shadows along the wall to their right and Victor stumbled backward, releasing Twinkie to grasp at the deep red blossoming across his right shoulder.

"That's for damn sure." Brian said, stepping into the light as Twinkie lurched toward him. Brian shoved Twinkie behind him and kept his gun trained on Victor as he moved backward toward Dom and Rome.

Shaw looked furious.

"You good, Letty?" Dom asked calmly.

"Been better." she answered through bloody teeth.

"Be outta here soon."

"She's gonna owe me for this one."

Dom grinned, "And I'm sure you'll tell her that."

"Damn straight."

Shaw lost his patience with being ignored and pressed the barrel of his gun hard enough into Letty's temple that she winced.

"I believe you are forgetting who has the power here." Shaw ground out.

"I believe you need to chill the fuck out, brah." Rome fired back. "My girl's gonna be pissed if you hurt her girl there."

Victor struggled to his feet, "Who is this 'she' and 'her'?"

Rome smirked and clapped sarcastically, "Shaw's brawn's got brains, brah!"

Shaw stilled, "A valid question, actually."

Selena came sprinting out of one of the back rooms and stilled at the sight in front of her, but recovered quickly and held her phone up, "Devin was picked up by local P.D., John's not answering his phone, Cal is alive and working with Toretto, and the kid Cal was supposed to take out is alive."

"Your boy Satchel is out too, 'cause my man Tej is still kickin'." Rome supplied helpfully.

"And let me guess, you haven't heard from Jamal in a few days." Brian added with a smirk.

Shaw's face grew redder with every added comment. Dom tried to hide his grin, but there was something satisfying about watching someone like Shaw lose their cool.

"Who the fuck is she?" Shaw exploded.

Letty chuckled weakly, "Snow Queen doesn't like anyone putting her business out there."

Shaw's grip on his gun became white-knuckled, but he took a deep breath and regained some of his control. "Selena, escort Miss Ortiz to my car. We'll be clearing out of here."

Selena stepped forward and grasped Letty's collar with one hand while she replaced Shaw's gun with her own before moving carefully and efficiently toward a line of cars parked near an open bay door. Brian had to grip Dom's shoulder to hold him back when Selena pistol-whipped Letty unconscious before shoving her into the back seat of the lead car.

"Now, you can tell me who the Snow Queen is voluntarily, or Miss Ortiz and I will have a very drawn out conversation on the subject later."

Brian cocked his head toward Dom and donned a comically confused expression, "It seems like he's under the impression he's still in charge here."

Dom shrugged and leaned back against the Charger, "He never was. You know she was always a step ahead."

Dom pulled his phone out of his pocket.

* * *

Mara picked up on the first ring, "Dom?"

She could practically hear his smirk, "Shaw's down to Victor, Selena, and Kay. We've got Twinkie, but he's still got Letty." The smirk had slipped away at the last.

"And Vic's down an arm." she heard Rome call from somewhere in the background.

"Damn." Mara cursed, "Stick with the plan. Get him driving."

"How do you propose I do that?"

"You're good at pissing people off. Figure it out."

Mara hung up and looked at Hobbs, "We've gotta play this carefully. He's got Letty."

* * *

Mara gripped her steering wheel tightly and prayed she wasn't dooming her family. Everything, every aspect of their life and future, rode on tonight and what happened when the cars started pouring out of the warehouse across from her.

* * *

"Selena, please ensure that Miss Ortiz does not wake up and follow through on any stupid ideas that may flit across her mind. Victor, find Kay and tell her to pack up, we're moving to the recovery point."

Dom chuckled.

"Problem, Mr. Toretto?" Shaw snapped.

Dom shrugged, "Wouldn't do that if I was you."

"And whyever not?" Shaw bit out sarcastically.

Dom shrugged.

Brian leaned forward, as if to share a secret, and answered with a gleam in his eye, "It's exactly what she wants you to do."

Shaw's eyes narrowed as he backed carefully toward his car. "Then I'd best not disappoint her."

"Your funeral, brah." Rome smiled at him, all teeth.

* * *

**A/N: **And if I was a terrible person for making you wait so long, I'm clearly even worse for leaving you hanging once again. Does it help if I point out that I honestly am sorry?


	29. Chapter 29

"I am not naïve enough to assume you will not follow me, but follow me too soon, and I will end Miss Ortiz' disappointing existence sooner than planned." Shaw warned as he climbed into his car.

Dom's hand stilled on the handle of the Charger as Shaw blasted out of the warehouse, Victor, Selena, and Kay closely following.

"Mara, you better have this." he grumbled under his breath.

* * *

Mara was beginning to question the intelligence of using the comms as soon as they came online. As soon as she watched Shaw's depleted crew peel out of the warehouse, voices started overlapping in her ear.

"I really gotta go back to the races?" Rome whined.

"Mara, you better have this." Dom growled.

"Would everyone shut the hell up? Ya'll are givin' me a headache." Sean griped.

Mara grinned, "Stick to the plan. Rome, yes; help Sean and Cal clear the scene, Shaw'll try to use it for cover and I don't want to give him the chance. Book it. Now."

"Yes drill sergeant." Rome answered sarcastically.

"Go!"

"Going, mama, chill!" At the same time, Mara heard his engine roaring to life as he stomped it out of the warehouse."

"Dom, Bri, get your asses out here. He's heading toward the ten."

"On our way." Dom's voice preceded two more engines roaring to life and Mara pressed the gas a bit harder as she tried to keep Shaw and company in sight.

* * *

Rome flinched every figurative and literal step of the way, but did what had to be done and climbed up on to the hood of his car and let out a shrill whistle. Most probably wouldn't believe how quickly the scene quieted as he issued his challenge.

"Not a single one of you scumbags denied you'd stand behind Dom if it came to it. Time to put your money where your mouth is."

* * *

**A/N:** This isn't even half a chapter, but I didn't want anyone to think I had abandoned this. I'm having trouble finding time to bang out the last few scenes, but I promise I'm working on it!


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N: **Okay, ya'll - the end is FINALLY here. I have learned my lesson and I promise to never, ever, ever, EVER again start posting a story that isn't typed through completion.

* * *

Letty was groggy, uncomfortable, and vaguely aware she was moving very fast. And she was fucking pissed. This was not how the plan was supposed to go, and if she could get out of the cuffs locked at an awkward angle behind her back, she just might conveniently forget any and all promises she'd made to Mara about leaving Shaw to her.

* * *

Shaw knew someone was tailing him from the moment he left his warehouse, but he didn't know who or how until he caught a flash of white and blue as he swerved onto the freeway.

"Snow Queen." he spat the moniker out like a curse.

"Repeat, boss." Kay's raspy voice cut through.

Shaw spoke more clearly so his team could hear him through the comms, "The Snow Queen seems to be following us."

"Want me to shake her?"

"If you would be so kind."

* * *

Mara had reached the point where she was mentally tagging who each comment came from, but not doing much in the way of responding to any of them.

"Street scene is clearing." _Rome_.

"Just hit the freeway." _Bri_.

"Kay just broke out of Shaw's formation. Falling back toward you, Mara." _Tej_.

"Shit!" Mara cursed.

"Two minutes behind you. Three tops." _Bri_.

"Hold tight, Ara. We're coming, babe." _Dom_.

Mara huffed out some of her pent-up frustration in a quick breath then grinned. With Dom at her back, Shaw didn't stand a chance.

* * *

Kay glided smoothly out of her position at Shaw's flank. Shaw's cars were often flashy, but Kay herself kept it simple and subtle. Her black Corvette was nice enough to turn heads, but looked common enough that no one paid attention for more than a moment. Her engine, on the other hand, was anything but simple and subtle. She wasn't surprised that the Snow Queen noticed her. She wasn't surprised that the Snow Queen matched her pace, by all appearances giving up on chasing Shaw. Kay knew better. The Snow Queen was up to something. She wasn't surprised when the Snow Queen revved and shot forward a bit, testing Kay. Kay obliged and followed. She was a _little_ surprised that the Snow Queen followed her course off the interstate, up an overpass, and back down onto a service road.

Kay quickly decided that while the game of cat and mouse was all good fun, she had better things to be doing. She hit a button on her steering wheel and watched with a grim sort of satisfaction as the small metal disk fell from her undercarriage and went sliding toward the Snow Queen.

She was _definitely_ surprised when Snow Queen's driving style suddenly morphed into something completely different – into something completely familiar. Snow Queen hit the brakes even as she shifted gears in a way that made Kay cringe, because she knew it had to be just grinding the gears, but Snow Queen's back tire hit the disk just right and it went flying into the copse of trees off the road as she slammed to a stop, parallel with Kay. It was a distinct move that Kay had only seen once before in her life, and despite numerous drivers efforts, had never seen duplicated, and her gut clenched even as the thought crossed her mind.

Kay raised her hand frantically to her ear, "Shaw. It's Mara. The Snow Queen is Mara."

She heard only static in response.

"Shaw?!"

Static.

"Shaw, answer me damn it."

More static, then a familiar smooth voice, "Jammed your signal. You're S.O.L. if I get to him before you. Catch me if you can." She barely caught Mara's grin as she shot past her and back toward the highway, completely unconcerned as Kay's bomb went off and shrouded the little grove of trees in flames.

Kay cursed and followed.

* * *

Shaw kept his eyes on the road, save for the occasional glance in his rearview at Letty cuffed and prone across his back seat. His mind raced through contingency after contingency. Then his train of thought was interrupted by Kay's offer to shake her and he gave the affirmative even as he settled on a plan. The race tonight would, at the very least, provide a bit of cover, and at best provide a worthy distraction for the Snow Queen.

* * *

"Please tell me you've still got eyes on him." Mara practically pleaded as she alternately kept her eyes on the road in front of her and Kay's Corvette in the rear-view.

"About a quarter mile behind him. You were right. Looks like he's heading toward the races." Brian answered her.

* * *

Letty barely held back a grunt of pain as Shaw slammed his brakes and cursed. But she took advantage of the fact that her hands were free and she bailed out the passenger side door in a hail of bullets and more cursing.

* * *

Shaw flew around the corner and immediately slammed his brake to the floorboard. The race was _here_ tonight. John had confirmed it. But _here_ was deserted and for a brief moment his mind went uncharacteristically blank before jumping back to life and running through a list of who the hell could manage to fuck with him this badly. He was distracted only by a sudden movement in the backseat as the door flew open and Letty dove out. He was dispassionately impressed as she just ran toward cover without looking back or flinching as he unloaded his handgun toward her retreating form.

* * *

The drive from the warehouse to the abandoned race scene was kind of blur of split attention between Shaw and Letty, Mara and Kay, and just driving in Dom's mind. Everything came back into focus as he slid around the corner to see Letty running for cover and Shaw standing half out of his car and shooting at her. Dom shot past Shaw's still car and screeched to a stop between Shaw and Letty even as Brian shot past Dom and flung open a door for Letty to dive into.

"She's been hit!" Brian's voice came frantically across the comms as Shaw stopped shooting.

"Get her to a hospital. Now." Mara bit back.

* * *

Mara's vision blurred at Bri's declaration that Letty had been hit, but she forced herself to focus and offered a brief nod that he probably couldn't see as she shot past him and brought her car to a stop off to the side somewhere between Dom and Shaw. She took a final fortifying breath and opened her door, vaguely aware of more cars pulling in around them.

* * *

Shaw's breath caught as he watched the elusive Snow Queen's door open. Black motorcycle boots mostly covered by ripped denim up long legs to a form fitting vintage Dodge shirt with sleeves rolled up to the elbow covered the figure that stepped out. As his eyes traveled the rest of the way up to blonde tresses in a messy braid and eyes bluer than a clear sky, Shaw's blood ran cold and the word escaped in a breath before he could stop it or register that her gun was pointed unerringly at his chest, "Mara."

She inclined her head tersely, beautiful eyes as cold as the ice of her new moniker, "Owen."

Shaw slowly took in Toretto in front of him, Mara his right with Kay behind her. O'Conner's taillights were fading in the distance, and he heard Selena and Victor's engines idle to a stop behind him. He threw his head back and laughed. Mara raised a single brow at him coolly.

"Mara, Mara, Mara." he shook his head condescendingly, "I should have known. You were, after all, the only person to ever actually pull anything over on me. I suppose it was too much to hope that there could be another even half as intelligent."

"Flattery will get you nowhere, Owen."

"Even if I tell you I love you more for it all?"

"She's not interested." Dom growled before she could respond.

Shaw darted a calculating gaze between them, another realization dawning, "Oh my. No wonder Miss Ortiz was so… prickly."

Mara scoffed, but offered no other response. Dom simply glared.

"I'll make you the only once, so consider it carefully, my dear."

Mara remained silent.

"Shoot Mr. Toretto, return what you took, and return to my side. We'll let this all be water under the bridge."

* * *

It was Mara's turn to laugh.

Shaw looked at her incredulously, clearly thrown off balance, but fighting to maintain his cool, "Something funny?"

Mara smirked, "You actually seem to think that offer is going to work."

Shaw raised his arms out to the sides, "Look around you! You are outmanned and outgunned. Surely you don't think the two of you can get away from four of us."

Mara's smirk darkened, "I've been two steps ahead of you since day one. You don't honestly think you have the advantage right now, do you?"

"Kay, shoot her." Shaw commanded, as if to prove a point.

A shot rang out.

* * *

Kay raised her gun from her side and took aim. She pulled the trigger. Then felt pain.

* * *

Mara turned in time to see Kay fall and watch Rona step out of the shadows with her gun raised steadily in the mechanic's direction. She nodded in the cop's direction before turning back to Shaw and retraining her own gun on the man. Later, Mara was never quite sure precisely what started the chaos that followed; the memories were adrenaline-fueled and fuzzy.

Shaw shouted some order and suddenly Selena was heading toward while Shaw and Victor headed toward Dom. Before Victor could make his way too far forward, a Hummer flew onto the street, smashing Victor's car moments before Hobbs stepped out of it. Elena jumped out of the other side and sprinted toward Selena. Mara was pretty sure that the fight between Victor and Hobbs would have been one of epic proportions if Victor hadn't already been down an arm. Elena and Mara tag teamed Selena, and in the end, Mara was grateful for it, because she wasn't certain she could have handled that level on unpredictable insanity on her own. As Elena cuffed Selena none too gently, Mara turned just in time to see Hobbs final right hook drop Victor into a crumpled heap. Rona was crouched over Kay's body, checking for a pulse, gun still in hand.

And Shaw was raising a tire iron over his head with Dom at his feet. Mara dove for the gun she'd dropped in the scuffle with Selena. She vaguely registered an intense pain in the general region of her ribs, but the adrenaline allowed her to push it aside. She took aim and pulled the trigger. Shaw turned toward her, shock clear on his features, as the blood blossomed across his chest and he fell to the ground.

Mara's last thought before succumbing to pain and the darkness fighting toward the edges of her vision was that the whole thing felt really anticlimactic.

* * *

Mara woke up in a hospital two days later with Letty in the bed to her left and Dom in the bed to her right. Both were as pissed off as she was about being in a hospital at all, but all were equally grateful to have been placed in the same room. Even more than they were pissed off, the hospital staff was tense and frustrated in response to the rough and tumble clan of racers that had taken up residence in the closest waiting room.

Bri was the one to finally explain to her what went down, in a straight-forward way reserved for Mara alone, "You shot Shaw, he's dead. Rona shot Kay, she's dead. Rona is on suspension pending investigation. Selena, Victor, Devon, and John are all in lock-up for their foreseeable futures. Julius got two to five. Jamal decided to hang out in Miami. Satchel's a ghost, not even Tej can find the kid. Your record is cleared, we're all clear, we're all free, and we're all alive. I miss anything?"

Mara shook her head but drew her brows together.

"What?" Brian insisted.

Mara shrugged, then winced as the motion pulled at the stitched hole in her side, "It all just feels… I don't know. Less dramatic than it should have been?"

Brian laughed, "Tej and Sean technically died, you and Letty got shot, Dom got the shit beat out of him, and you shot the bastard who ruined your life. How much more dramatic do you want?"

Mara offered another small shrug.

Brian rolled his eyes, "You need anything else?"

Mara grumbled something about getting out of the fucking petri dish, and Bri just laughed, pressed a kiss to her forehead, and breezed out of the room.

* * *

Three days later, Mara found herself gingerly climbing into an SUV that she was pretty sure Tej had bought solely for the purpose of transferring three of the most impossible patients on the planet back home where they could reign down hell on family instead of innocent medical personnel.

* * *

Five days later, Mara woke up with her head on Dom's chest and his eyes staring down at her.

"I know my bedhead's not that interesting, Toretto. What?" she grumbled.

His responding chuckle rumbled through her, "Nothing."

"You're a shitty liar." she mumbled.

She felt him still, "I almost lost you."

She shrugged, "And I almost lost you."

He tensed.

Before he could start yelling she struggled up to look him in the eye, "This is our life, Dom. It isn't always pretty. But it's also not always going to be so damn ugly. The point is that it's ours, and it isn't going to change, so just own it."

He nodded slowly. "We own it."

"We own it."

* * *

Exactly one week after the showdown with Shaw, Mara was sitting on the porch with Sean and Jack. Rona walked up the steps and sat down on the floor in front of Mara, thoughtfully watching Sean and Jack playing with model cars on the other end of the porch.

After a few minutes she quietly offered, "Got the results of the internal investigation."

"And?" Mara asked.

"Turns out your old pal Carte was our leak."

Mara barked out an undignified sound somewhat resembling laughter then groaned, "Why is that not surprising?"

Rona shrugged.

"What else?" Mara asked gently.

"I was cleared."

"But?"

"But I don't know if I can stay. Being a cop… it was always more about proving something than actually wanting to do it. After this… I just don't know. But I don't know what else to do."

Mara smiled at her, "Dinner's at six on Sundays, how about we start there?"

After a moment, Rona smiled back, "Got a beer preference?"

Mara laughed, "Bring anything but Corona, and Dom'll kick your ass to the curb so fast your head spins."

* * *

Mara leaned back into Dom and sighed contentedly. She was fucking exhausted – apparently healing from a gut shot took a lot out of a girl.

"What are you thinking?" Dom asked quietly.

She suppressed a shiver as his voice rumbled through her. Her eyes roamed over her family. Brian sat at the other end of the table with Mia in his lap as he bickered with Rome about something and Tej sat back laughing at them both. Twinkie had drawn Jack duty and was currently making sure the toddler didn't drown himself in the six inch plastic pool. Sean and Rona sat on the back steps as Sean animatedly told a story that Mara recognized from his hand gestures as one of the stunts he had pulled in Tokyo. Letty sat gingerly in a chair near the porch, observing the proceedings in a similar manner as Mara.

Mara sagged further back against Dom, "It's good to see my family happy. It's good to be home."

* * *

**A/N: **I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this ending, and one of these days, I might just rewrite this whole thing, but for now, this is finally done, and as always, favs and comments are more than welcome! :) I hope you enjoyed the ride.


End file.
